The Official Area Guide
of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
the
b es t
The Sourcebook
of putnam county
Featuring Algood Baxter Cookeville Monterey
$3.50
features
staff Editor & Creative Director Roman Stone
Design/Layout Meredith Purcell
Writer Margaret LeFevre
Contributing Writers Chamber of Commerce Laura Clemons Melahn Finley Karen Lykins Rebecca Smith State of Tennessee
Contributing Photographers ATC Automation Averitt Express Ron Baker Molly Brown Dean Carothers City of Algood CrossFit Rick Larsen Tom Lee John Lucas Lisa Malone Paul Meacham Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Upper Cumberland Tourism Association WDStone & Associates
Data
On the cover COme on up! Discover why the Highlands are A Great Place to Live + P. 4
Inside the sourcebook Cummins Falls + P. 12 The Highlands’ Great Outdoors + P. 14 Small Town, Big Culture + P. 16 Want Fun? We’ve Got It! + P. 20 Paying Attention to Your Health + P. 22 Education + P. 26 Business + P. 34 Preparing Our Workforce for the 21st Century + P. 42 A Higher Level of Competition + P. 48 Downtowns + P. 52 The Chamber + P. 60 Advertisers Index + P. 64
Henry Bowman Chamber of Commerce Herald-Citizen UC Daily News Upper Cumberland Development District
Sales Suzanne Bussell Whitehead
Accounting Adrienne Stone
Customer Service Michelle Herron
Printing Anderson Printing Solutions
Distribution Chamber of Commerce
Design/Production WDStone & Associates
T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 1 8 Sponsored by the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce To correct, delete or add information, please contact the Chamber. One West First Street + Cookeville, TN 38501 931-526-2211 + Fax 931-526-4023 + 800-264-5541 info@cookevillechamber.com + cookevillechamber.com
2 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
114 N. Washington Ave. + Cookeville, TN 38501 931.525.6020 + Fax 931.525.6550 sourcebook@wdstone.com + yoursourcebook.com wdstone.com + contact@wdstone.com The Sourcebook © WDStone & Associates, Inc.
Courthouse, Cookeville
Putnam County, Tennessee, includes the cities of Algood, Baxter, Cookeville, and Monterey and is an area rich in both history and leadership. Putnam County is in the heart of the Highlands. Our goal is to provide an informative resource to those interested in learning more about Putnam County and all the amenities we have to offer.
T E N N E S S E E
111 135 136
56 70N
ALGOOD
COOKEVILLE
84
MONTEREY
BAXTER
62
70N 111
84
56
www.putnamcountytn.gov
KEY OFFICES Assessor of Property 931-528-8428
County Executive 931-526-2161
Highway Department 931-526-4864
Board of Education 931-526-9777
District Attorney 931-528-5015
Maintenance Department 931-526-7256
Circuit Court Clerk 931-528-1508
Election Commission 931-526-2566
Register of Deeds 931-526-7101
Clerk and Master 931-526-6321
Emergency Medical Services 931-528-1555
Sheriff’s Department 931-528-8484
County Attorney 931-372-9123
Fire Department 931-528-1200
Solid Waste Department 931-528-3884
County Court Clerk 931-526-7106
General Sessions Court 931-528-1508
County Trustee 931-526-8845
the
H
Highlands are
a great place to l i v e And work. And play. And ...
4 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
1
There’s so much to love about Cookeville and Putnam County, whether you’ve lived here for years or are looking for a great place to spend a weekend, relocate your business, raise a family or retire. The largest micropolitan area in Tennessee and one of the top 40 micropolitan areas in the nation, Cookeville-Putnam County has the total package — rich culture, friendly people, breathtaking nature, a top-rated educational system, award-winning regional medical facilities and thriving commerce
— and we’re more than happy to share these treasures with all who join us, whether it’s for a little while or forever. Putnam County, the geographic hub of the 14-county Upper Cumberland region, is situated at the crossroads of Interstate 40 and State Highway 111 and is within a day’s drive of about 76 percent of the nation’s population. Our prime location makes us a regional center for employment, education, health care and recreational/cultural opportunities to 340,000 people.
Putnam County ranks 18th in dollars spent by visitors to Tennessee, and Cookeville, its county seat, is the site of one of the most frequented exits on I-40 in Tennessee. Visitors and residents enjoy our optimal weather, which features four distinct seasons, mild winters, warm summers and minimal snow. We have so much going for us that the rest of the nation is starting to take notice. The American Chamber of Commerce has rated us one of America’s most affordable communities; “The Rating Guide
photo
1
Cookeville-area
residents gather on a sunny afternoon to enjoy a Bryan Symphony Orchestra concert in the Dogwood Park Performance Pavilion. [Rick larsen]
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
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highlands 2
to Life in America’s Small Cities,” Rand McNally’s “Places Rated Retirement Guide” and Where to Retire magazine have named us one of the nation’s best retirement communities; and The Council for Community and Economic Research’s ACCRA Cost of Living Index recently rated Cookeville the sixth most affordable urban area out of 314 in the nation, noting that the cost of living here is 14 percent below the national average. In addition, we are proud to be an official Retire Tennessee certified community; an American Association of Retirement Communities Seal of Approval community; a national Main Street community; and a Tennessee Three-Star community. A Stone’s Throw from Nature Cookeville is a nature lover’s paradise. We’re located within a short drive of two city-owned lakes, numerous rivers and streams that traverse the community, and three U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes — including Dale Hollow, voted #4 Lake in the Nation to “Float Your Boat” by USA Today — plus state parks and natural areas that span more than 60,000 acres and include
6 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
breathtaking waterfalls, hiking trails and stunning natural features. Those who wish to stay in town can enjoy Cookeville’s sprawling golf courses or its 10 well-tended parks, including Cane Creek Park, a 262-acre natural area that features a 56-acre lake, walking trails, paddleboats, picnic shelters, playgrounds and an 18-hole disc golf course. There’s also City Lake, a 35-acre natural park with a fishing pier, hiking trails and a waterfall overlook, and Dogwood Park in the center of town, which was recently expanded to include seven grassy acres, a stone splashing fountain and a concert shell where our symphony frequently performs. Culture Without Congestion You don’t have to go to the big city to experience the arts. Cookeville is one of the smallest cities in the U.S. with its own symphony orchestra, Tennessee Tech University’s Bryan Symphony Orchestra. Cookeville is also home to the world-famous TTU Tuba Ensemble, a frequent Carnegie Hall performer. The hills are alive with visual artists and fine crafters, thanks to
the Appalachian Center for Craft, a satellite campus of Tennessee Tech University that has served as a magnet for teachers and students of fine craft for more than three decades. Taking inspiration from the natural elements in the hills and hollers where many of them have hidden their studios, our artists create some truly wonderful pieces and display them regularly in a handful of local galleries and at the Craft Center. Those who like their arts played out onstage will enjoy year-round productions at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center, a 456-seat live performance theater, which produces the state, regional and national award-winning Backstage at CPAC series, an annual rotation of contemporary plays. In addition, CPAC is the home of Cookeville Children’s Theatre productions and a variety of other local events. Just What the Doctor Ordered Our state-of-theart hospital, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, quite literally adds to the quality of life here. A 247bed hospital with 200 physicians covering 40 medical and surgical specialties, CRMC has made
Cookeville the region’s go-to source for top-rated medical care. CRMC has been recognized nationally for excellence in many different categories. Healthgrades® named CRMC among the top 5 percent of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide in 2013, earning Cookeville Regional the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. Healthgrades® has also ranked Cookeville Regional among America’s 100 Best Hospitals in four specialties and No. 1 in Tennessee in five specialties. In another testament to our community’s commitment to making quality care available, Cookeville reportedly has more automated external defibrillators than any other community in the nation, thanks to our very active Mended Hearts organization. An A+ for Education An educational hub for the region, Cookeville is home to Tennessee Tech University, which has garnered international acclaim and is consistently ranked among the best universities in academics and value. TTU has ranked repeatedly among U.S. News & World Report’s
+ continued
3
photos
2
The Hooper Eblen
Center seats nearly 10,000 and serves as the home of Tennessee Tech basketball. [Dean Carothers]
3
Lunch on the patio at
Crawdaddy’s on Cookeville’s West Side. [WDstone]
Top Public Universities, and PrincetonReview.com has named TTU its “Best in the Southeast” for 2012. This is the ninth consecutive year The Princeton Review has recognized TTU in the rankings. Our area is also home to three statesupported vocational schools, and our public school system includes Cookeville High School — one of only 20 schools in Tennessee that has an International Baccalaureate® program — as well as two other high schools, five middle schools, 10 elementary schools, an alternative school and an adult high school. Our entire school district was recently 100-percent accredited by AdvancED, the parent organization of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACSCASI), and the ACT scores of Putnam County students are above the national average. A County That Means Business With its natural beauty, central location, affordable land, excellent access to interstate systems and low tax burden, Cookeville-Putnam County is a prime setting for business and
industry. Manufacturing serves as the region’s largest employment sector, followed by retail and health care. Agriculture and tourism are also leading industries. Our progressive leadership strives to nurture existing companies while attracting new businesses to the area. With that goal in mind, the city and county have partnered to develop the new, 304-acre Highlands Business Park, which offers premier land parcels off I-40 and will soon be linked to the interstate via a fifth interchange that will also connect the park to Highway 70W. Other advantages to locating a business here include a ready workforce, a regional airport, easy access to an international airport, and a competitive incentive package from local, state and federal programs. Here to Host A thriving community of more than 30,000, Cookeville-Putnam County has more than 100 dining establishments, 1,400 beds in our hotels, and more than 300 retail establishments. We typically serve from 350,000 to 400,000 people per
day, from travelers along I-40 and Highway 111 to shoppers coming in from surrounding counties. Our impressive roster of national chain stores gives our retail segment a small-town feel with big-city convenience. Our historic courthouse square and West Side districts together form a walkable downtown that offers unique shopping opportunities and quiet evening strolls. Shoppers will delight in boutiques that carry everything from name brands to fine crafts and rare antiques, and food lovers can enjoy a bountiful selection of eateries whose offerings range from gourmet to down-home. Four Ways to Find Out More To learn more about Cookeville and Putnam County, check out MustSeeCookeville. com, where you can peruse all of the area’s attractions online. We’ve included three days’ worth of sample itineraries to help you plan your trip, or you can set your own agenda by adding stops to an online “travel bag.” Other site features include an online form where you can submit questions about Cookeville to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well
as a downloadable “Must-See Cookeville Visitors Guide.” If you’re in the area, be sure to check out the Highlands Visitor Center, which houses interactive displays of local attractions, historical exhibits and a wall-sized map that highlights points of interest in the Upper Cumberland. Wall displays and floor panels relate information about outdoor recreation, cultural arts, historical attractions, museums, music, wineries, agritourism, special events, education, retail and golf. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week, the center also offers restroom facilities and a refreshment area. You can also call us at 800-264-5541, or email info@cookevillechamber. com.
Check out QUICK FACTS (p .8-10) for more about Co
okeville,
Putnam County
and
the Highlands.
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
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quick facts City of Algood
City of Monterey
Algood was first settled in 1820 and was incorporated in 1901. Until rails reached the area around 1891, Algood was farmland — much of it owned by Joel Algood, and known as “Algood Oldfields.” The Nashville and Knoxville Railroad bought land from him for a depot and called it “Algood,” thus naming the community that grew up around the station.
Monterey was once the pioneer settlement “Standing Stone,” so named for a large boulder on the historic Walton Road nearby. After the railroad reached Standing Stone in 1893, officers and stockholders of the Cumberland Mountain Coal Company founded a new town and named it “Monterey,” which is Spanish for “mountain of the king.”
80 miles east of Nashville 100 miles west of Knoxville On Highways 111 and 42
92 miles east of Nashville 85 miles west of Knoxville On Interstate 40
3,495
2,850
1115’ above sea level
1875’ above sea level
4 square miles
6.9 square miles
Government
Mayor, (931) 537-9545 Five aldermen City administrator, (931) 537-6830 Ext. 224
Mayor, (931) 839-3770 Eight aldermen
Public Safety
Fire Dept.: (931) 537-6357 Police Dept.: (931) 537-6830
Fire Dept.: (931) 839-2323 Police Dept.: (931) 839-2323
Water: Town of Algood Water, Sewer and Sanitation Dept., (931) 537-9545 Electric: City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213 Gas: City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213
Water: City of Monterey, (931) 839-3339 Electric: Volunteer Energy Cooperative, (931) 839-2217 Gas: Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District, (615) 597-4300
History county c l i m at e
Avg. Annual Temperature
57ºF
Location
January Avg.
52.9ºF high 37.9ºF low July Avg.
88.8ºF high 67.2ºF low
Population Elevation
Avg. Annual Precipitation
Area
51”
Avg. Annual Snowfall
8”
Prevailing Winds
SE
Mean Length of Freeze-Free Period
211 days
Avg. Relative Humidity
79% midnight 85% 6 a.m. 48% noon 62% 6 p.m.
Utilities
ADVERTISEME N T s
PEGGY S. JENKINS
Independent Beauty Consultant 359 CC Camp Rd. Cookeville, TN 38501 931-526-5709 931-260-3755 www.marykay.com/pjenkins pjenkins@marykay.com
FIRE
TREE
HEARTH & GRILL FIREPLACES • STOVES - GAS, WOOD & PELLET OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES • GRILLS & SUPPLIES OUTDOOR FURNITURE
www.firetreehearthandgrill.com
931-498-3155 • 888-996-9962
I - 4 0 E X I T 2 8 8 – N O R T H O N H W Y. 1 1 1 9 . 5 M I L E S @ P U T N A M / OV E R TO N C O U N T Y L I N E
8 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
City of Cookeville
City of Baxter
Putnam County
Chosen for its springs and central spot, Cookeville was incorporated in 1856 as the county seat and named for Richard Fielding Cooke, a state senator. The Nashville and Knoxville Railroad (the Tennessee Central) ran through Cookeville in 1890. Construction of Highway 70 in the 1930s, Interstate 40 in the 1960s, and Highway 111 in the 1990s helped make the town a commercial center.
Baxter has borne various names. Before the railroad, a post office there was called “Ai,” a name borrowed from a biblical city of Canaanites. When the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad built a depot there, it was called “Mine Lick.” To avoid confusion, in 1902, the community, post office and depot were named “Baxter” in honor of Jere Baxter, president of the Tennessee Central.
Putnam County was created in 1842 from parts of White, Overton, Jackson and Fentress counties and was named in honor of General Israel Putnam of the Revolutionary War. In 1844, a court injunction charged that the county was improperly established. But in 1854, the county was reestablished by the court, and Cookeville was named the county seat.
79 miles east of Nashville 101 miles west of Knoxville At intersection of I-40 and Highway 111
69 miles east of Nashville 109 miles west of Knoxville On Interstate 40
30,435
1,385
1133’ above sea level
1031’ above sea level
22 square miles
1.5 square miles
408 square miles
Mayor, (931) 520-5241 Five-member city council City manager, (931) 520-5240
Mayor, (931) 858-4111 Four aldermen
County executive, (931) 526-2161 24-member commission
Fire Dept.: (931) 526-2121 Police Dept.: (931) 526-2125
Fire Dept.: (931) 858-2621 Police Dept.: (931) 858-4111
Volunteer Fire Dept.: (931) 528-1200 Sheriff’s Dept.: (931) 528-8484
Water: City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213 Electric: City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213 Gas: City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213
Water: City of Baxter, (931) 858-4142 Electric: Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corp., (931) 528-5449, and City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213 Gas: City of Cookeville, (931) 520-5213, and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District, (615) 597-4300
72,958
More Highlands Quick Facts on pa
ge 10.
ADVERTISEME N T s
BILLINGS
CRANE CRANES TO 175 TONS
Machinery Moving Steel Erection • Crane Service Welding & Fabrication 820 W. Broad St. • Cookeville, TN 38501 • 931-526-5470 • Fax 931-526-1983
dale@billingscrane.com • www.billingscrane.com
Doing Good Things for the Earth! Spray Foam Insulation Thermal Imaging Environmental Services Building Analysis Home Energy Audits 44 C C Camp Rd., Cookeville, TN 38501 | Ph. (931) 783-0111 | F. (931) 432-4621 info@evergreentoday.com | www.evergreentoday.com
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
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ADVERTISEME N T s
H
quick facts
+ continued
Whether you are looking for someone to help you for a few hours a week, or you need more comprehensive assistance... Home Instead Senior Care can help.
connect
h e a lt h
Telephone
Hospital
Charter Communications, (931) 284-4551
Cookeville Regional Medical Center, (931) 528-2541
Frontier Communications, (931) 528-0709 Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative Corporation, (931) 858-2151
Newspaper/ Publishers The Herald-Citizen (931) 526-9715
Transit
The Hilltop Express (931) 839-2949 Cumberland Business Journal (931) 528-8852
Radio
Highways Interstate 40, East/West State Highway 111
WATX-AM (1600)
U.S. 70
WBXE-FM (93.7)
State Highways 42, 135, 136 and 290
WGIC-FM (98.5) WGSQ-FM (94.7) WHRS-FM (91.7) WHUB-AM (1400) WJNU-FM (96.9) WKXD-FM (106.9) WLIV-FM (104.7) WLQK-FM (95.9) WPTN-AM (780) WTTU-FM (88.5) WWOG-FM (90.9)
Television WKRN (ABC) WTVF (CBS) WSMV (NBC)
Air Upper Cumberland Regional Airport, (931) 739-7000 Livingston Municipal Airport, (931) 823-1269
Bus The Cookeville Area Transportation System, (931) 372-8000
Rail The Nashville & Eastern Railroad (Putnam County) Caney Fork & Western Railroad (White County)
WZTV (FOX) WCTE-TV (PBS)
For more facts and figures about Cookeville and Putnam County, visit CookevilleChamber.com.
1 0 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
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cummins falls
Becomes Tennessee’s 54th State Park The scenic swimming hole reaps the benefits of preservation and protection. Cummins Falls, enjoyed
cummins falls
Address 390 Cummins Falls Lane Cookeville, TN 38501
for many decades as one of the Upper Cumberland’s “best-kept secrets,” joined the ranks of Tennessee’s greatest natural treasures when Gov. Bill Haslam dedicated it as the 54th addition to the Tennessee State Parks system in May 2012.
Located on the beautiful Blackburn Fork State Scenic River, this idyllic 211-acre Phone site in Jackson County is (931) 261-3471 home to Tennessee’s eighth largest waterfall at 75 feet high. Cummins Falls is formed on the Eastern Highland Rim and has been a favorite scenic spot and swimming hole for residents of Jackson and Putnam counties for more than 100 years. Cummins Falls also has been listed as one of the 10 best swimming holes in the United States by Travel and Leisure magazine. The addition of the new park at Cummins Falls was made possible through the leadership of Gov. Haslam, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and through the coordinating efforts and very generous support of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. Other key partners include the Friends of Cummins Falls State Park, The Nature Conservancy’s Tennessee Chapter, the Cummins family, the State Lands Acquisition Fund and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “I want to extend my congratulations to the citizens of both Jackson and Putnam counties who rallied in support of preserving and protecting Cummins Falls as a state park, opening up to the public a beautiful, one-of-akind landmark for use today and for future generations,” Gov. Haslam said. “Cummins Falls will not only serve as a constant reminder of the natural beauty Tennessee has to offer, this new state park will continue to demonstrate how private/public partnerships can work together to make a difference.” Situated in the Cordell Hull watershed, Cummins Falls’ forest includes a variety of oak, beech, buckeye,
sycamore and hemlock trees. Woodland plants include October lady’s tresses, star chickweed, liverleaf and Allegheny spurge. The property’s forested streamside protects turkey, quail and eagles, as well as a variety of fox, mink and unique insects such as damselflies and dragonflies. Through a cooperative agreement with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, fishing for bluegill and bass along the riverbank will be permitted with a Tennessee fishing license. While Cummins Falls State Park is officially open to the public, enhancements to the park – including trails, additional roadwork, restroom facilities and a small park office – are still part of the overall park management plan. The park will be a day-use park and will be open from 8 a.m. until sunset year-round. Cummins Falls’ rich history includes a time when Indians used the area to track the numerous buffalo that wallowed in the river’s shallow areas. In the 1790s, Sergeant Blackburn, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and for whom the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River was named, was awarded the land in lieu of a pension. The land was acquired by John Cummins in 1825, and he used it to build the first of two mills. Because of his growing clientele, a larger second mill was built in 1845. Local residents would visit the mills and the falls for both commerce and recreation. The mill was washed away during the great flood of 1928, but cars and paved highways had already begun to make the trek to Cummins Falls more accessible. No more construction took place on the land, but it stayed with the Cummins family for more than 180 years until the recent efforts by the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation to purchase the land through private and public donations for resale to the State of Tennessee for nearly $1,040,000. [photo by paul meacham]
n about
For more informatio
nnessee’s parks
Cummins Falls, visit Te
rks.com.
website at tnstatepa
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
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get ready to explore
’ s d n a l h g i h e th large parks and natural areas
Bike
boat
cabins
camp
hike
ride
hunt
lodge
wildlife Picnic & natural areas
play paddle & sports
swim
white water
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
20,000 acres • 43 miles from Cookeville
Miles of scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs. Features an abandoned coal mining town that was part of the Stearns Coal and Lumber Co. from 1937 to 1962.
Miles of waterfalls, streams, gorges and recreation facilities. The park is one of the most popular in the Southeast. At 256 feet, Fall Creek Falls is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States.
burgess falls state natural area
883 acres • 36 miles from Cookeville
Features sheer bluffs, narrow ridges, mixed forest and a native butterfly garden. Four waterfalls along one-anda-half-mile trail, the tallest at 136 feet.
Dominated by the Great Falls of the Caney Fork River — a limestone gorge that provides scenic overlooks, waterfalls and pools. Features a 19th century textile mill and one of the state’s early hydroelectric plants.
125,000 acres • 85 miles from Cookeville
200 acres • 11 miles from Cookeville
cummins Falls
Fall creek falls state park
Rock Island state Park
standing stone state park
211 acres • 9 miles from Cookeville
11,000 acres • 24 miles from Cookeville
Home to Tennessee’s eighth-largest waterfall at 75 feet. Fish for bluegill and bass in this wooded natural refuge, which Travel and Leisure magazine named one of the 10 best swimming holes in the U.S.
Sits on the Cumberland Plateau and takes its name from an 8-foot tall rock that was reportedly used as a boundary between two Indian nations. It now stands in Monterey’s Whitaker Park.
edgar evins state park
1 4 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
fish
Virgin falls trail
6,000 acres • 26 miles from Cookeville
1,157 acres • 36 miles from Cookeville
Features unique species of wildlife and mixed hardwood forests near the shores of Center Hill Lake. An observation tower at the Visitor Center offers a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding hillsides.
Noted for its unique geological features, including the 110-foot Virgin Falls, other waterfalls, caves and sinkholes. The Caney Fork Overlook provides a view of Scott’s Gulf and the Caney Fork River 900 feet below.
s r o o d t u o t ’ grea re are only minutes away. Scenic parks, natural areas, lakes and mo
City parks
Cane creek park
CC Camp Rd. • Cookeville
Capshaw Park
S. Maple St., Stevens St. and Elm Ave. • Cookeville
Cinderella Park
lakes
Center hill lake
29 square miles • 20 miles from Cookeville A 64-mile-long reservoir near Smithville with 415 miles of shoreline and 18,200 acres of deep, pure water that is home to many species of fish. Popular activities include fishing, hunting, camping, picnicking, boating, canoeing and hiking.
Golf
Belle Acres Golf Course 9 holes | 2,934 yds. Par 36
Mitchell Ave. and Cinderella Lane • Cookeville
Cookeville Golf Club
City Lake Natural Area
Bridgeway Dr. • Cookeville
18 holes | 6,600 yds.
Dogwood Park
Ironwood Golf Course
Par 70
E. Broad St. • Cookeville
18 holes | 6,311 yds. Par 72
Ensor Sink Natural Area
Mountain Ridge Golf Club
Clover Hill Dr. and Foutch Dr. • Cookeville
18 holes | 6,673 yds.
Fantasy park
Par 72
Main St. • Algood
Franklin Avenue Park
Southern Hills Golf Course
city lake
Franklin Ave. and Sixth St. • Cookeville
35 acres • in Cookeville
Park View Park
Features a 35-acre natural park with hiking trails, a waterfall overlook and a fishing pier. Fish include catfish, bass and bream.
Scott Ave. • Cookeville
18 holes | 6,017 yds. Par 72
White Plains Golf Course 18 holes | 6,150 yds.
Walnut Park
Par 72
cordell hull lake
S. Walnut Ave. • Cookeville
19 square miles • 23 miles from Cookeville
Walter l. bilbrey Memorial park
Flows in and out of the Cumberland River in Smith County with 381 miles of shoreline and 22 boatlaunching ramps.
Fourth Ave. • Algood
West End Park
West End St. • Cookeville
Whitaker Park
E. Commercial Ave. • Monterey
Dale Hollow lake
43 square miles • 32 miles from Cookeville Voted #4 Lake in the Nation to “Float Your Boat” by USA Today, and boasts 620 miles of shoreline and more than 14 commercial marinas.
You can also tee off at one of several golf courses located within a few miles of Cookeville, four of which are championship courses.
More recreation info at MustSeeCoo
keville.com.
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
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photos
1
Celebrating its
50th anniversary in 2012, the Bryan Symphony Orchestra gives one of its many concert season performances in Tennessee Tech University’s Wattenbarger Auditorium. [dean carothers]
small town
big culture ichment! Cookeville offers many opportunities for enr
2
Local thespians star
in a variety of productions at the newly renovated Cookeville Performing Arts Center.
3
[WDSTONE]
Sarah Gayle Meech
performs at the Cookeville Depot Museum on the West Side during the 2012 Tennessee State HOG Rally, which Cookeville hosted. [Molly Brown]
1 6 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
Ask any Putnam County resident, and they’ll likely tell you that the quality of life here is outstanding. Not only do we have award-winning medical care, tremendous natural vistas and a progressive business climate, but we also have cultural opportunities comparable to what one might find in much larger towns, giving us a distinctive local flavor. ART A great variety of very talented visual artists and craftspeople, many of whom are known regionally and nationally, call Putnam County home. The historic West Side district is dotted with shops that boast their vibrant work, and the Appalachian Center for Craft, a satellite campus of Tennessee Tech University, features several rotating exhibits and a large gallery shop filled with the work of the program’s BFA students along with that of other nearby artisans in clay, fibers, glass, metals and wood.
Our artists unite each autumn to host the Art Prowl studio tour, which offers the public a chance to see artists at work in their own studios and in local galleries. We also have two nonprofit art organizations — the Cumberland Art Society and the Cookeville Arts Council — that host workshops, exhibits and other opportunities for artists to master and display their work. Or, you can spend an evening making your own masterpiece at The Art Mill, located across the street from the depot museum. Music If music is your thing, you’ll find that live performances abound here. Cookeville is one of the smallest cities in the U.S. to have a full symphony orchestra — the Bryan Symphony Orchestra — which performs regularly in TTU’s Wattenbarger Auditorium and at the Dogwood Performance Pavilion. For those who enjoy folk, bluegrass, Americana and country
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music, the Cookeville Department of Leisure Services hosts the free Brown Bag Lunch concert series at the historic depot museum each October and the Sundays in the Park concert series in the Dogwood Performance Pavilion each June. Cookeville is home to two musical community organizations. The Cookeville Community Concert Band performs in the Dogwood Performance Pavilion every other Monday night throughout the summer, and the Mastersingers, a community choral ensemble, presents public concerts and also performs at many private and community functions. And then there’s the big event each September, when Cookeville cordons off the courthouse
square for Fall FunFest, a weekend musical celebration featuring continual musical performances on two stages, plus crafts, food and entertainment for children. Fall FunFest draws musicians from across the state and region and also features the Cookeville CookOff, a competition that determines the Tennessee State Champion for the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Television/theater Our Emmy Award-winning public television station, WCTE-TV, offers Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland an outstanding range of programs, from nationally acclaimed PBS shows to coverage of local issues and events. WCTE also regularly airs and has obtained national syndication for several local productions. In conjunction with its children’s programming, WCTE makes a
community impact through its educational outreach program. Stations of Imagination, its signature event, is held during Fall FunFest and features characters from favorite children’s shows, a stage event, local dance teams, comedians, storytellers and a variety of activities aimed at making learning fun. For those who enjoy a bit of drama, we have a talented group of community thespians who perform regularly. Venues include the 456-seat Cookeville Performing Arts Center, which produces the award-winning Drama Center Backstage series, and the Wesley Arena Theatre, which presents several plays each year. And don’t miss Shakespeare in the Park each October, when actors perform eight nights of a chosen Shakespeare play in the Dogwood Park
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Small town, big culture photos
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See heritage quilts
painted large on the rustic barns that dot the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail. [WDSTONE]
5
The Cookeville
Depot Museum is in the city’s original, circa-1909 train depot. [WDSTONE]
Performance Pavilion. TTU’s Backdoor Playhouse stages several student productions each year, and even the youngest actors can take a turn in the spotlight through the many youth acting workshops and elaborate productions staged for more than three decades by Cookeville Children’s Theatre.
museums While you’re out and about, don’t forget to soak up some local history at one of our museums. The Cookeville History Museum houses a self-paced, permanent exhibit on the history of Cookeville and Putnam County. Railroad buffs are sure to enjoy the Cookeville Depot Museum, which is housed inside a
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1 8 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
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pagoda-style train depot built in 1909. Reminiscent of Cookeville’s days as a prime whistle-stop on the Tennessee Central line, the museum features railway artifacts, rotating exhibits and a Middle Tennessee railroad HO scale model train that chugs through a replica of downtown Cookeville in the 1950s. Just up Cedar Street from the depot is the Kiwanis Cookeville Children’s Museum, a community-inspired space that offers children of all ages unstructured play opportunities in visual and cultural arts, science, history and social sciences. And then there’s our newest museum, the Patton House Museum. Nicknamed “The Doll House,” the museum features more than 2,000 dolls, including Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, First Lady dolls, Barbies and dolls from around the world. The lifetime collection of the late Velma Thompson, the dolls now reside in the home of late Putnam County historian Maurine Patton, who documented every area gravesite and maintained a large archive of other local historical records. With all of these options, Putnam Countians have plenty of ways to make their lives richer. If you’d like to feast your eyes and stimulate your mind, come on up to Cookeville. We’ll keep you busy for a while.
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want fun? w e ’ v e g ot i t ! by yourself or spend a funWhether you’re looking to while away a day shortage of fun things to packed weekend with your family, there’s no parks and lakes to wineries see and do in and around Cookeville. From ent order dialed in. and world cuisine, we’ve got your entertainm
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Park It If nature’s your thing, you’re going to love it here. Putnam County is graced with 14 well-tended parks, the crown jewel of which is Cane Creek Park, a 262-acre regional park where visitors can feed the ducks along the trails that encircle a 56-acre lake, hop into a paddleboat and pedal their way around the lake, bring a boat and fish, or enjoy a picnic and 18-hole disc golf, basketball or volleyball at one of the park’s three large shelter and play areas. Our newest source of pride is Dogwood Park in the center of town. Completely renovated in 2012, it features seven grassy acres with a tall, lighted, stone splashing fountain where children – and children at heart – can play to their heart’s content. A large concert shell with an earthterraced seating area serves as a beautiful natural venue for symphony performances, concerts and our annual Shakespeare in the Park series. Get Your Green On Within just a few minutes’ drive from Cookeville are two staterun natural splendors you won’t want to miss. Featured in the August 2011 issue of Southern Living magazine as one of the “Five Ways to Stay Cool in Tennessee,” Burgess Falls State Natural Area is home to four waterfalls – the tallest of which is 136 feet – along a one-and-a-half-mile round-trip trail. Known for its sheer bluffs, narrow ridges, rolling water and abundant mixed forest, the park also offers a native butterfly garden, picnic area and fishing. And then there’s our newest state park, Cummins Falls, a 211-acre site that is home to Tennessee’s eighth largest waterfall. A favorite swimming hole among Jackson and Putnam countians for more than 100 years, Cummins Falls was named as one of the 10 best swimming holes in the United States by Travel and Leisure magazine. Make a Splash Also just a stone’s skip away from Cookeville are three top-rated, Corps of Engineers lakes for those who fancy water sports, swimming, fishing and boating. Center Hill Lake is a 64-mile-long reservoir near Smithville. It consists of 415 miles of shoreline
and 18,200 acres of deep, pure water that is home to many species of fish. Popular activities include fishing, hunting, camping, picnicking, boating, canoeing and hiking. Cordell Hull Dam is located at mile marker 313.5 on the Cumberland River in Smith County, 48 miles east of Nashville and 26 miles northwest of Cookeville. With 381 miles of shoreline and 22 boat-launching ramps, Cordell Hull Lake offers a fishing opportunity for anyone with or without a boat. Dale Hollow Lake, voted #4 Lake in the Nation to “Float Your Boat” by USA Today and the #1 Houseboating Lake in North America by boaters at PickASlip.com, boasts 620 miles of shoreline and more than 14 commercial marinas. The pristine quality of the lake is important to the Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery just below the dam, which produces 1.5 million trout annually. Take in a Tasting If you enjoy the fruit of the vine, Putnam County now has its very own winery to tour and enjoy. DelMonaco Winery offers free tastings of their award-winning wines, free tours of their winery and vineyards, wine clubs with three levels of membership and a gift shop featuring items for the connoisseur or novice. The 52-acre winery also offers four rooms for meetings and special events. The largest is the Grand Bella Room, a ballroom that can seat at least 300 and features double staircases, marble columns, a balcony and a vineyard view. Find Whatnots and More Tucked around Cookeville’s downtown square, you’ll find specialty stores and boutique galleries. Take a walk on the West Side and explore fairtrade-certified gifts, or meander through trendy clothing stores. If antiques are your thing, hunt for hidden treasure in the many antique shops and specialty stores along Broad Street. Eat Your Way Around the World Cookeville offers a plethora of dining options, including a surprising variety of international fare for a town our size. There’s
everything from sushi to Cajun, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Mediterranean, German and Italian. For those who crave home cooking, we offer a number of quaint, Southern-style diners to fill the bill. Top off your feast with ice cream from Cream City Ice Cream & Coffee House or donuts from the legendary Ralph’s Donut Shop, or settle in for a latte at one of the cozy coffee houses on the square. Be There, Do That If you really want to see Cookeville come to life, be sure and visit during one of our many festivals and community events. You can fill up on live music, crafts and barbecue each September at Fall FunFest, gobble up gumbo from a handmade ceramic bowl at Cookin on the Square, take in a train excursion at the Cookeville Depot Museum, or enjoy many other events we have planned throughout the year. And be sure to visit the West Side after dark on Fridays, when the vintage neon sign atop the old Cream City Ice Cream building lights up the night sky. Start Right Here If you want to know more about Cookeville, Putnam County and the Highlands, or if you’d like a little help planning your trip, visit the Highlands Visitor Center, located at 470-A Neal Street in Cookeville. The 1,870-square-foot facility houses interactive displays of local attractions; fine arts and craft items from local and emerging artists; historical exhibits; scenes of the Highlands and other DVDs, such as Appalachian Craft Center demonstrations; and a wall-sized map that highlights points of interest in the Upper Cumberland. Cookeville souvenirs are also sold. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week, and volunteer staffers are always on hand to answer questions and lend a hand with trip planning.
For more information on all that Cookeville has in store, visi
t
MustSeeCookeville.com.
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photos
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Radiation therapists
David Maynard and Teresa Maggart prepare a patient for a tomotherapy treatment at The Cancer Center at
paying attention
t l a e h r u o y o t
Cookeville Regional. CRMC is the only facility in Middle Tennessee and one of only two in the entire state that offers this technology.
hub for the region, is Cookeville-Putnam County, the health care dents with state-of-thecommitted to serving the needs of area resi fitness opportunities. art health care and top-quality parks and
[WDSTONE]
Local leaders regularly discuss and review how the area’s
2
Held each summer,
the CRMC Road Race also serves as the state criterium championship race. [WDSTONE]
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The well-attended
2012 Komen Upper Cumberland Race for the Cure raised more than $69,000 for cancer research. [lisa malone]
2 2 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
allied health care providers and key businesses and organizations are meeting the prenatal-throughretirement health needs of the region’s population of 340,000.
A Regional Health care Provider Our nonprofit, community-based hospital, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, is an awardwinning, 247-bed regional medical center that serves the entire 14-county Upper Cumberland region and employs a staff of 2,000, with more than 200 physicians and other providers on its medical staff representing 40 medical and surgical specialties. CRMC has been recognized for several years by Healthgrades®
— the nation’s most trusted independent source of physician information and hospital quality outcomes — for a broad array of services. Most recently, Healthgrades® has named CRMC among the top 5 percent of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide, earning Cookeville Regional the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. Healthgrades also named CRMC among America’s 100 Best Hospitals for cardiac care (2013), coronary intervention (2012-2013), orthopedic surgery (2012-2013) and spine surgery (2012-2013), as well as No. 1 in Tennessee for overall orthopedic services (2012-2013), joint replacement (2013), overall cardiac services (2012-2013), cardiology services (2013) and coronary interventional procedures (20112013), and Consumer Reports
ranked CRMC No. 2 in the state for patient safety in 2012. Underscoring its commitment to topquality care, CRMC has: • Opened a six-story, 228,000-square-foot North Patient Tower with an expanded cancer center and 30-bed intensive care unit • Added a dedicated electrophysiology (EP) lab to expand services offered through the hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center • Acquired the TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® Treatment System, the world’s most advanced cancer treatment system; the $1.5-million da Vinci® Surgical System, a robot that allows surgeons to perform a variety of minimally invasive procedures;
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2 CRMC AWards
2013 Healthgrades® Awards Top 5% in Nation for Overall Cardiac Services Cardiology Services Coronary Interventional Procedures Overall Orthopedic Services
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Spine Surgery Top 10% in Nation for Joint Replacement
th
Excellence Awards in Cardiac Care Coronary Intervention Joint Replacement Orthopedic Surgery Spine Surgery #1 in TN for Overall Cardiac Services Cardiology Services Coronary Interventional Procedures Overall Orthopedic Services Joint Replacement
and the region’s first 3 Tesla (3T) MRI, which uses the strongest magnet field strength that’s clinically available today • Opened a five-bed, dedicated pediatrics unit • Completed a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of its obstetrics department and a $20 million project to add six new operating rooms to the surgery department • Added a 32-bed behavioral health hospital owned and operated by Ten Broeck Tennessee In an effort to expand services to surrounding communities, CRMC recently formed Cookeville Regional Health System (CRHS), a network comprised of health care providers from throughout the Upper Cumberland who all have a vested interest in our region’s health
care. In addition to CRMC, CRHS includes Celina’s Cumberland River Hospital, which CRMC recently acquired; Cookeville Regional Medical Group, a multispecialty physician group; The Foundation at CRMC, a charitable organization; and a number of primary-care and specialty clinics in the Upper Cumberland region, including new clinics in Fairfield Glade and Livingston. Cookeville Regional recently secured an affiliation with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), which creates significant opportunities for both parties to work together to expand the scope of health care services in Putnam County and the Upper Cumberland region. CRMC is also affiliated with the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), allowing the hospital
to offer cancer patients many new research treatments before they are widely available. From massive expansions and beneficial affiliations to awardwinning, compassionate care, Cookeville Regional Medical Center has consistently brought the best care close to home for more than 60 years. A Community-Wide Commitment to Wellness Whether you’re looking to stay fit and healthy or to become so once more, you’ll find numerous ways to get moving, from our 14 well-tended parks, which include three lakes and many winding trails, to our active recreation programs; numerous fitness facilities; and nearby hiking, biking and boating opportunities.
In fact, our entire community has gotten into the act of staying active through the Get Fit Highlands Challenge, hosted each spring and fall by the Highlands Health Care Committee, which works to promote a healthy lifestyle in the four counties of the Highlands. The Get Fit Challenge is a friendly competition through which area businesses and organizations in Jackson, Overton, Putnam and White counties can demonstrate their employees’ fitness and community involvement. The goal of the challenge is to create awareness of the importance of physical fitness in our daily lives. The goal for each participant in the challenge is to do some form of physical activity five times a week for 30 minutes a day and then to log their points on the GetFitTN website, which also offers a way to
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ADVERTISEME N T s
health
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+ continued
track nutrition. The website tallies the individual’s score and then adds their points to the total for their organization and county. Businesses and organizations compete with each other to have the overall winning team, and the county with the largest percentage of residents completing the challenge is declared the winning county. A media event announcing the winners is held at the end of the competition, and each person who completes the challenge is entered into a drawing for prizes provided by area businesses. More than 204 businesses and organizations with a total of 2,427 individual participants have competed in the Get Fit Highlands Challenge to date. According to a survey conducted by Tennessee Tech University, 47 percent of participants reported losing weight, 81
percent said they felt better, and 61 percent felt like the program was motivating. “We know that our residents are interested in improving their health and enjoy participating in this friendly competition with our sister counties,” said George Halford, Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. “Anything we can do to promote health and fitness in the Highlands is a real win for all of us.” And now the Get Fit Challenge is winning awards of its own. It won the 2012 Shining Star Award, presented by the Tennessee Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health. It’s just one more reason that Putnam County is a great place to get — and stay — well.
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When It Comes to
education Putnam Makes the Grade
From public and private schooling to homeschooling to university education and career training, Putnam County is brimming with schools and organizations that stand ready to fill the educational needs of all types and ages of students. The Putnam County School System Putnam County is home to three high schools, five middle schools, 10 elementary schools, an alternative school and an adult high school. Putnam County’s more than 11,000 PreK-12 students enjoy a top-rated education with the help of more than 715 professional educators in 20 schools. Our three high schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and our entire school district is 100-percent accredited by AdvancED, the parent organization of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Council on Accreditation and School Improvement. Our three high schools — Cookeville, Upperman and Monterey — feature extensive and growing advanced placement programs and offer the latest in classroom technology by collaborating with Tennessee Tech University. In fact, Upperman High School was ranked among the “Most Connected High Schools 2011” by U.S. News & World Report. Cookeville High School is one of 20 schools in the state and 1,370 in the nation that has earned the prestigious designation to grant International Baccalaureate® (IB) degrees. Putnam County’s seniors consistently perform better than the state average on the ACT exam, and our school district ranked 12th among Tennessee’s 137 school
districts in ACT scores, according to “The State of Education in Tennessee 2011-12” report. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam recently identified three Putnam County schools as 2011-12 Reward Schools, placing them in the top 5 percent of schools in the state for annual growth or academic achievement. Monterey High School and Baxter Elementary School were honored for progress students there made in the 2011-12 school year, and Capshaw Elementary School was honored for overall student achievement. Prescott South Middle School and Prescott South Elementary School were two of only four schools in the state to be chosen as the first Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program sites. As they transition to spearhead the Upper Cumberland Rural STEM Initiative, Prescott teachers will be collaborating with the hub at the Millard Oakley STEM Center at Tennessee Tech University. They will lead students on virtual field trips through the schools’ distance learning lab, and all students will receive iPads to access course materials and take notes. For a closer look at system schools, visit putnamcountyschools.com. Private schools Area private schools offer low student/teacher ratios and quality instruction. Heavenly Host Lutheran School in Cookeville offers K-8 education
photo
1
Andy Pardue guides visitors on “A Tour of the Universe” each Friday afternoon in the virtual theater at the Millard Oakley Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Center, a 26,000-square-foot educational resource for teachers, students, families and the community. Located on the campus of Tennessee Tech University, the center offers seasonal and annual programs. [john lucas]
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education 2
as well as an Early Childhood Center and PreK classes. Algood Christian Elementary, located on Highway 111, also provides K-9 classes. Highland Rim Academy, a classical Christian school for students in grades K-10, is located in Cookeville. Heritage Academy in Monterey offers education for students in grades 9-12. And Sylvan Prep Academy is a grade 1-12 school with a curriculum designed around the “multiple intelligences” theory designed to provide opportunities for all kinds of minds to be successful. Homeschool Organizations Cookeville’s Daniel 1 Academy is a home education center serving families who choose to educate their children at home. Parents can register their children with Daniel 1 to satisfy Tennessee’s legal requirements for homeschooling. A Category IV private school, Daniel 1 is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International and ACSI. Programs include a basic homeschooling program as well as a correspondence program and a satellite program. Daniel 1 also offers
3
achievement testing, driver permit letters and work permits, and they host boys’ and girls’ basketball and volleyball teams to offer homeschooled students a chance to play competitive sports. Adult High School Putnam County offers basic reading, writing, social studies, science, literature and math courses and GED exam preparation for adults who have not completed high school, as well as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes for those wishing to learn to read, write and speak English. Employment and life skills are also incorporated in the curriculum. Tennessee Tech University Tennessee Tech University strives to incorporate the latest technology throughout all its academic disciplines with a focus on the national priorities of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Offering more than 40 bachelor’s and 20 graduate degree programs, TTU leads the state as its only comprehensive technological university, with an
enrollment of about 11,500 students. TTU’s campus features the Millard Oakley Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Center, a 26,000-square-foot STEM-education resource for educators, students, families and the community, located in Ray Morris Hall. The center offers seasonal and annual programs in its learning studios. TTU students have the highest mid-career median salary potential of any public university graduates in the state, according to PayScale.com. TTU graduates also have the least debt in the South, according to U.S. News & World Report. More than half of TTU’s 2011 graduates left school debt free. The 47 percent of grads who had private or government student loan debt owed an average of $9,952, the second lowest average debt amount in the nation. The university is consistently ranked one of “America’s 100 Best College Buys.” This designation, reported each year by Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc., touts TTU as one of the best college educations nationwide for the
ADVERTISEME N T s
W E L C O M E CHURCH OF GOD
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H O M E COMMUNITY OF FAITH
719 S. Jefferson Ave. Cookeville, TN 38501
931-528-8701 • pastorr55@yahoo.com • www.cookevillepcc.com
2 8 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
+ continued
4
photos
2
Putnam County’s
more than 11,000 students enjoy a top-rated education with the help of more than 715 professional educators. [WDSTONE]
cost. TTU has been included in the list every year from 2006 to 2012. TTU offers six of Payscale.com’s Top 10 College Majors that Lead to High Salaries: chemical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, physics and applied mathematics. Their alumni hold positions as Fortune 500 CEOs, NASA astronauts, government leaders, renowned professors, respected researchers and other prestigious leaders. Ranked among the “Top Public Universities” by U.S. News & World Report in its 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 America’s Best Colleges Guides, Tennessee Tech also is one of the Top 15 “Public Regional Universities” in the South, according to the 2012 report. TTU is “Best in the Southeast” for 2012 according to PrincetonReview.com. This is the ninth consecutive year PrincetonReview.com has recognized TTU in the rankings. Of 17 Tennessee schools listed, TTU remains one of only five public universities to earn the designation. The Princeton Review also listed TTU’s College of Business as one of the “Best 301 Business Schools” in the nation in its 2012 guidebook.
For more information about TTU, visit tntech.edu. Vocational Schools Nashville State Community College’s Cookeville campus, now established as a vital part of the community’s educational fabric after opening an $11.3 million facility in 2002, offers associate degrees in a broad range of areas. Students can choose to study on campus or via the Web, as NSCC offers many online and hybrid courses. Cookeville’s MedVance Institute specializes in medical assistant, medical office and pharmacy technician training, in addition to programs in medical laboratory, radiologic and surgical technology.
To learn more about education
al
3
Nashville State’s
Cookeville campus offers online courses, degree and certificate classes, and general education classes. [WDSTONE]
4
The state-of-the-
art School of Nursing and
opportunities in our area, visi
t
Health Services building is a
cookevillechamber.com.
recent addition to the TTU campus. [Dean carothers]
ADVERTISEME N T s
Phillip Baker Barry Daniel Gabe Colwell 1165 South Willow Ave. Cookeville, TN 38506 SM
931-432-1571
FarmBureauCookeville.com
RESTAURANT
BANQUET FACILITIES
PERFECT VENUE FOR
FAMILY REUNIONS • SPECIAL EVENTS • PARTIES
MORE
931.528.1434 • WWW.NICKSCOOKEVILLE.COM
895 South Jefferson Avenue • Cookeville, TN 38501 c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
29
education elementary school s tat s
PreK–12 Students
11,000
Educators
715
Public Schools
20
Private Schools
5
High Schools
3
Senior ACT Scores
Better than State Average Tennessee School District Ranking
12 Out of 137 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Program Sites
2 of Only 4 in Tennessee
Degrees Offered by Tennessee Tech
44 Bachelors, 20 Graduate Consecutive Years of Recognition by PrincetonReview.com of TTU
9
Algood 2525 Old Walton Rd. Algood, TN 38506 (931) 303-0362 K-4 putnam.k12.tn.us/aes/ Baxter 125 Elmore Town Rd. Baxter, TN 38544 (931) 858-3110 K-4 putnam.k12tn.net/bes Burks 300 Crossville St. Monterey, TN 38574 (931) 839-7641 K-8 putnam.k12tn.net/bms Cane Creek 1500 W. Jackson St. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 520-1173 PreK-4 putnam.k12tn.net/cces Capshaw 1 Cougar Lane Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 526-2414 K-4 putnam.k12tn.net/ces Jere Whitson 178 Jere Whitson Rd.
Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 526-6575 PreK-4 jerewhitsonwildcats.net
(931) 537-6141 PreK, 5-8 putnam.k12tn.net/algood Avery Trace 230 Raider Dr. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 520-2200 5-8 averytraceraiders.com
Northeast 575 Old Kentucky Rd. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 526-2978 PreK-4 putnam.k12tn.net/nes
Burks 300 Crossville St. Monterey, TN 38574 (931) 839-7641 K-8 putnam.k12tn.net/bms
Park View 545 Scott Ave. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 526-2516 PreK-4 putnam.k12tn.net/pves Prescott South 115 W. Cemetery Rd. Cookeville, TN 38506 (931) 526-2275 PreK-4 pses.pcsstn.com Sycamore 452 Ellis Ave. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 526-9322 PreK-4 putnam.k12tn.net/ses
Cornerstone 371 First Ave. South Baxter, TN 38544 (931) 858-6601 5-8 putnam.k12tn.net/cms Prescott South 1859 S. Jefferson Ave. Cookeville, TN 38506 (931) 528-3647 5-8 putnam.k12tn.net/psms
high
Middle Algood 540 Dry Valley Rd. Cookeville, TN 38506
Cookeville 1 Cavalier Dr. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 520-2287
ADVERTISEME N T s
Attorney-at-Law 931.526.6131 • Fax 931.372.0150 24 North Jefferson Avenue • P.O. Box 715 Cookeville, Tennessee 38503
E-mail: legal@dledbetter.com 3 0 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
+ continued
PreK, 9-12 cookevillecavs.com
Cookeville, TN 38506 (931) 432-1496 d1academy.org
Monterey 710 Commercial Ave. Monterey, TN 38574 (931) 839-2970 9-12 montereywildcats.org
Christian Curriculum
Private
higher ed
Algood Christian Elementary 2660 Hwy. 111 North Algood, TN 38506 (931) 537-3561 cookevillechristian.org
Upperman 6950 Nashville Hwy. Baxter, TN 38544 (931) 858-3112 PreK, 9-12 uppermanbees.com
Adventist Education
Putnam County Adult 286 E. Main St. Algood, TN 38506 (931) 528-8685 putnamcountyschools.com/ adulted/index.html
Heavenly Host Lutheran 777 S. Willow Ave. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 520-3766 hhls.org Christian Curriculum
K-12 White Plains Academy 288 E. Main St. Cookeville, TN 38506 (931) 537-3862 putnam.k12tn.net/dvas
Homeschooling Daniel 1 1654 Burgess Falls Rd.
Cookeville, TN 38505 (931) 372-3101 or (800) 255-8881 tntech.edu
Sylvan Prep 600 E. Veterans Dr. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 528-2543 earlyscholars.com
Heritage 23100 Clarkrange Hwy. Monterey, TN 38574 (931) 839-6675 heritageacademy.netasi.org Adventist Education
Highland Rim 1200 Miracle Rd. Cookeville, TN 38506 (931) 526-4472 highlandrimacademy.org Christian Curriculum
MedVance Institute 1025 Hwy. 111 Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 526-3660 medvance.edu Motlow State Community College 603 Roosevelt Dr. Sparta, TN 38583 (931) 837-3341 mscc.edu Nashville State Community College 1000 Neal St. Cookeville, TN 38501 (931) 520-0551 nscc.edu/cookeville Tennessee Bible College 1616 McCulley Rd. Cookeville, TN 38506 (931) 526-2616 tn-biblecollege.edu
Tennessee Technology Center at Livingston 740 High Tech Dr. Livingston, TN 38570 (931) 823-5525 ttclivingston.edu TTU Continuing Education Program Extended Education – Tennessee Tech University Box 5073 Cookeville, TN 38505 (931) 372-3944 tntech.edu/noncredprog/ registration Volunteer State Community College 113 Windle Community Rd. Livingston, TN 38570 (931) 823-7065 or (800) 563-8220 volstate.edu/Livingston
Tennessee Tech University 1 William L. Jones Dr.
ADVERTISEME N T s
ROGERS GROUP, INC. east tennessee www.rogersgroupinc.com
Crushed Stone Experts 355 EAST MAIN ST. ALGOOD, TN 38506 931.537.6535
1684 OLD SMITHVILLE HWY. SPARTA, TN 38583 931.738.2301
CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION SERVICE & DOCUMENT IMAGING
SENTRYSHRED.COM • SALES@SENTRYSHRED.COM P.O. Box 3482, Cookeville, TN 38502-3482 • 931-526-3022 • 866-526-3022
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
31
S C H O O L
S Y S T E M
All telephone numbers: 931 Area Code
Algood Elem. (K-4) Ms. Jill Ramsey • 303-0362
Algood Middle (PreK & 5-8) Mr. Tim Martin • 537-6141
Avery Trace Middle (5-8) Mr. Michael Meihls • 520-2200
Baxter Elem. (K-4) Ms. Tammy Hoover • 858-3110
Burks Elem. (K-8) Mr. Kevin Maynard • 839-7641
Cane Creek Elem. (PreK-4) Ms. Emily Pierce • 520-1173
Capshaw Elem. (K-4) Dr. Kim Wright • 526-2414
Cookeville High (PreK & 9-12) Mr. Lane Ward • 520-2287
Cornerstone Middle (5-8) Mr. Billy Stepp • 858-6601
Jere Whitson Elem. (PreK-4)
Northeast Elem. (PreK-4)
Dr. Melissa Palk • 526-2978
Park View Elem. (PreK-4) Mr. Bobby Winningham • 526-2516
Prescott South Elem. (PreK-4) Ms. Catherine Jones • 526-2275
Prescott South Middle (5-8) Ms. Cindy Taylor • 528-3647
Sycamore Elem. (PreK-4) Ms. Tracy Nabors • 526-9322
Upperman High (PreK & 9-12)
Ms. Penny Nash • 858-3112
White Plains Academy (K-12) Mr. Joe Matheney • 537-3862
Adult High
Ms. Jimmie Webber • 528-8685
Adult Education
Ms. Lynda Breeden • 528-8685
Director of Schools
Dr. Teri Anderson • 526-6575
Monterey High (9-12) Ms. Sonja Farley • 839-2970
1400 East Spring Street • Cookeville, TN 38506 931-526-9777 • Fax 931-528-6942 www.pcsstn.com
Mr. Jerry S. Boyd
1
A Great Place to Do
business As the retail center for 14 counties with annual sales of more than $1 billion, Cookeville-Putnam County is a thriving marketplace for 340,000 customers. Manufacturing serves as the region’s largest employment sector, and Putnam County is home to more than 100 manufacturing companies, which employ more than 6,000 people. In good company Goods produced by many Putnam County companies are exported all around the world. One company — Flexial — literally has products in outer space. Based in Cookeville, Flexial produces highly engineered metal bellows that are in use on a wide variety of commercial and military aircraft around the world and are also in use aboard numerous space systems, including the International Space Station.
2
They’re one of many Putnam County companies that produce innovative, high-tech products. Research Electronics International (REI) designs and manufactures electronic countermeasure equipment for government agencies, law enforcement organizations, corporate security personnel and technical surveillance countermeasure professionals. Aphena Pharma Solutions, with founding headquarters in Cookeville, is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical packaging companies. ATC Automation designs and builds custom assembly automation and test systems for a variety of industries, including the medical device, consumer product and automotive sectors.
coil heating elements; Identity Group, which provides visual identity and communication products to national office supply chains; and many more. “We have a rich history of innovation and creation that continues today due to the entrepreneurial spirit that exists here in the Highlands region,” said George Halford, Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. “World-class, locally owned companies are sought after for the high quality and unique product offerings made right here in Putnam County.”
Several larger companies have their corporate headquarters here, as well, including iWC, a regional food distribution company; Averitt Express, one of the nation’s leading freight transportation firms that also provides service to more than 300 international destinations; Tutco, the world’s largest supplier of open-
photos
1
Cookeville is home to the founding headquarters of Aphena
2
Cookeville’s Averitt Express is one of the nation’s leading
Pharma Solutions, a contract pharmaceutical packaging, repackaging
freight transportation and supply chain management providers.
and manufacturing company.
[averitt express]
[WDSTONE]
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
35
business photos
3
3
Based in Cookeville, ATC Automation designs and
builds custom assembly automation and test systems. [atC]
4
iWC ships thousands of food products from its
165,000-square-foot facility in Algood. [WDSTONE]
5
The 304-acre Highlands Business Park offers land
off a soon-to-be-completed exit on I-40. [TVA]
Companies that locate in Putnam County enjoy a number of distinct advantages, including excellent access to interstate systems, competitive incentive packages, a ready and trainable workforce, access to acclaimed university resources, and several business parks nearing completion. Put it all together, and you have the formula for a great place to live and do business. Fertile Ground for Growth Putnam’s probusiness environment, built around progressive and fiscally responsible county and municipal governments, encourages new business development while supporting the expansion of existing business and industry. The chamber employs an existing business outreach strategy that provides for concrete assistance and support for existing companies paired with a proactive response to all retention opportunities. “Existing industry is the bedrock that allows us to grow in all aspects of our community. It is the core of all we are able to accomplish,” said Randy Adams, chair of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce Existing
3 6 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
Industry Committee. “The Existing Industry Committee is comprised of business and community leaders from different backgrounds and experience levels who share selflessly to help create a great environment for our existing industry partners to grow and new ones to join them.” The chamber greatly broadened its capacity to foster business growth in Putnam County and throughout the region by spearheading the Highlands Initiative, an economic and community development program that is a decidedly proactive accelerant for businesses. Supported by their respective chambers, city/county governments and key institutions, Highlands leaders have developed: • Strategic business plans • Cooperative arrangements among founding counties • Several business parks in various phases of development • Target opportunities and other economic development research • A TVA-based inventory of facilities and land “When the chamber can directly benefit one business, there are
ancillary benefits for the others, as well,” said Wayne Cravens, owner of Cravens & Co. Wealth Management, who relocated his business here from Knoxville in 2005. “The profits from those businesses are then channeled back into this community, so those success stories create a very virtuous cycle that continues to build, and I see that happening in Cookeville.” Said Eric Allen of Aphena, “Without a doubt, our chamber is the best one around. The Highlands Initiative is very focused on polling and pooling the surrounding counties to offer the best solution, because we know that the employment pool is not just Putnam County; the employment pool and the resources are in the surrounding counties, as well.” The Center of It All Within a day’s drive from 76 percent of the total U.S. population, Cookeville and Putnam County are often referred to as the “hub of the Upper Cumberland” and function as the center for industry and retail business in the region. Putnam County is centrally located between three of the
state’s four major metropolitan areas — Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga — and has excellent access to interstate systems, with Interstate 40 running from east to west through the center of the region, and Highway 111 running from north to south. These roadways provide essential access to the vast majority of the 340,000 people who live in the region, and Cookeville is the site of one of the most frequented exits on I-40 in Tennessee. Access to these major corridors has proven to be a major boon to area logistics and transportation companies. “The state of Tennessee has great interstate systems, and if you calculate the speed of the truck and then draw a radius, it covers a really large area,” said Bob Mackie, vice president and general manager of iWC. “We can easily get to Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga, and I think they’re the second, third and fourth most populated cities in the state. So being in Cookeville allows us to access those major markets more easily than if we were polarized at one of the ends.”
+ continued
4
Said Allen, “You’re basically an hour from two major cities, an international airport and a local, regional airport. And then from a logistics standpoint, you’re on major corridors where you can within 24 hours get to 76 percent of the population. You’ve got FedEx’s hub within five hours, as well as international shipments and customs, and you’ve got major railway systems. Those are big things. Everything logistically runs right through the middle of the state.” Cookeville is also centrally located in relation to many of the nation’s large automotive plants, which is a huge advantage for vendors to that industry. “The South has kind of become the hub of the automotive industry, and about 50 percent of our work is automotive related,” said Adam Bernhardt, controller at ATC Automation. “Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda and Toyota all have plants in the South, in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and North and South Carolina. We are also within a five-hour drive of hundreds of businesses that support the automotive industry.”
5
By Plane or by Truck The Upper Cumberland is served by eight general aviation airports, the closest of which is Upper Cumberland Regional Airport. Jointly owned by the cities of Cookeville and Sparta and the counties of Putnam and White, UCRA plays a valuable support role to our local industry. It boasts a 6,000-foot runway and can handle all general aviation planes up to MD-80 series aircraft, as well as popular larger planes such as Global Express, Gulfstream 5, Challenger aircrafts and Falcon 900s. Nashville International Airport, a 70-minute drive from Cookeville, provides commercial air service to the area and is served by 12 airlines offering flights to approximately 70 markets. “With the airport on the east side of Nashville, it takes an hour and a half from ATC Automation to be down there ready to board a plane to go out and install our projects,” said Bernhardt. “If you lived in a big city, it could take you an hour or more to drive across town to get to an airport. When you live here you cover more miles, but it really doesn’t take you any longer.”
Businesses that require trucking services have a very handy option in Averitt Express. “We’ve shipped and received quite a bit with Averitt Express as well as a variety of trucking firms that are specified by our customers,” said Bernhardt. “Averitt is very responsive to us. In fact, when we moved across town back in 1999, Averitt provided the trucks. It’s good to have those kinds of relationships and people we can call on locally to get things done.” A Place to Set Up Shop To promote economic growth and create jobs for Putnam County residents, the chamber, Putnam County and the City of Cookeville have developed and nearly completed the $4.8 million, 304-acre Highlands Business Park, which offers premier land parcels just minutes off of I-40 and within 90 miles of the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. The park, jointly managed by Cookeville and Putnam County, will soon be linked to I-40 via a fifth interchange that will also connect the park to Highway 70W. Because of its proximity to three
major metropolitan areas and to Tennessee Tech University, a ready source of technology graduates, TVA has awarded its data center certification to 47 acres of the park, verifying that this space is a prime location for data centers in the TVA region. The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce led the effort to win the certification, which was determined by Deloitte Consulting in contract with TVA. “The City of Cookeville has taken the required steps to improve this site, and those extra efforts are paying off,” said Halford. “This site recognition by TVA and Deloitte tells the data center industry that we are ready for business.” A Bounty of Benefits Locating in Putnam County affords businesses a wide array of tax abatement and other attractive, competitive incentive opportunities. In addition, there is no personal income tax on wages and no state sales tax on industrial machinery and equipment; purchases, installation and repairs of qualified industrial machinery; raw materials for processing; pollution control equipment for manufacturers; qualified industrial
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
37
Business
top ten
Putnam County’s Largest Manufacturers Perdue Farms (Poultry processing)
945 Cummins Filtration (Heavy-duty filters)
570 Oreck (Vacuum cleaners)
400 Flowserve (Actuators, ball, plug and butterfly valves)
310 Identity Group (Stamps, signs, ink marking devices)
270 Tutco (Heating elements for appliances)
270 Dacco (Auto transmission parts)
264 iWC (Food service)
179
Aphena Pharma Solutions (Repackaging of pharmaceuticals)
175 Fixtur-World (Commercial cabinets, etc.)
140
supplies; items purchased for resale; and containers, packing and wrapping materials. Area manufacturers also enjoy reduced sales tax rates for use of energy, fuel and water (1.5 percent versus 7 percent). Businesses may also receive state tax credits for purchasing, installing or repairing industrial machinery; creating jobs; and relocating a company to Tennessee. Local incentives include real and personal property tax abatement, discounts on certain land purchases, financing through industrial revenue bonds, emerging industry tax credits, day care facility tax credits and many more. In addition, the chamber actively partners with the State of Tennessee, TVA, ECD and other agencies to ensure that the needs of local businesses are being met. A Structure to Build On Putnam County has the infrastructure in place to accommodate rapid business growth and expansion. Excellent utility service coupled with various rate schedules and incentive programs are tailored to provide any business or industry with quality service at low cost. Each department is ready to work with new businesses and industries to assure that all their needs are met at a reasonable price. Future expansion plans in several areas will assure that the utilities can meet the needs of our community as it continues to grow and prosper. There is a large reserve margin for
electric service and available water supply to meet increased demand.
liaison between entities like TVA and us.”
Certain types of businesses may be eligible for infrastructure incentive programs, including the Enhanced Growth Credit Program for companies with high electrical usage; the FastTrack Infrastructure Development Program (FIDP) for projects that benefit the state and provide jobs; the State Industrial Access Program (SIAP), through which local communities can improve transportation to benefit specific new industries moving into their communities; and several more.
A Ready Workforce Putnam County’s workforce of more than 36,000 is rated high in quality, stability, availability and work ethic. Some advantages of our labor pool include a low rate of unionization, good labor-management relations and competitive wages and benefits.
“Right now the chamber is coordinating with us on a project to retrofit our facility with LED lighting,” said Mackie. “LED lights last several times longer than our current lighting technologies, which will yield us a significant savings on the bulbs alone. Then there’s the energy savings. We have around 160 400-watt light bulbs in our cold storage warehouse, where we maintain 0 degrees year-round. “The LEDs don’t produce significant heat, so we’ll see an electrical savings because we don’t have to have as much cooling capacity to cool the same amount of space. And, instead of a 400-watt bulb, the same light output will come from a 75-watt or 100-watt equivalent LED, so it’s one quarter the electrical cost for the power the bulbs use, and then there are also some TVA grants and tax incentives. The chamber is a great
“Cookeville has a good manufacturing base here, so employees that have come our way have been well trained or were in a position to learn when they’ve come to ATC Automation,” said Bernhardt. “I think that there are a lot of common-sense working people in this area who want to come in and work in a challenging atmosphere like we have here.” One of the region’s greatest workforce assets is its network of higher learning institutions. Anchored by Tennessee Tech University in Putnam County, the Upper Cumberland is home to five community college branches and three Tennessee Technology Centers. “Tennessee Tech University, the state’s premier technological university, plays a major role in the success of these companies with a steady stream of engineers and other talented graduates,” said Halford. Said Tom Jones, REI general manager, “We’re a very technically
ADVERTISEME N T s
Working with industry to keep industry working. Electric Motor Sales & Service
931/526-5461
228 West Spring • Cookeville, TN 38501 • cem-inc.com
3 8 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
Automotive Parts Supply Co. Locally Owned Since 1935
335 West Spring St. • Cookeville, TN 38501
931-526-2166
ADVERTISEME N T s
+ continued
based company, so we need engineers and test techs who have a good technical education. Tennessee Tech, Nashville State Community College in Cookeville and Volunteer State Community College in Livingston all provide excellent employees for whatever training we need. As far as our nontechnical production staff, the main thing is just having intelligent people who have a good work ethic and are willing to learn, and we find that in abundance here.” Several customized training options are available to area businesses and industries, including job-specific training and partnering programs offered through local universities and community colleges; employee recruitment and screening, offered through the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development; the FastTrack Job Training Assistance Program (FJTAP) offered by the state; and workforce development training, also offered by the Tennessee Department of Labor. Assistance is also available to cover the expense of travel for the purpose of training. “Even though our market is all over the country and the world, the chamber still gives us incentives, and if there are employment opportunities where I can hire 30 employees and get training dollars, I don’t
have to go track that down through the state,” said Allen. “I can call the chamber and say, ‘What’s out there?’ and they’ll tell me.” An All-Around Nice Place to Be Beyond all the incentives and businessfriendly attributes, Putnam County is simply a great place to visit or relocate to. “We have customers who visit here from all over the world and all over the United States, and some of them take brochures and think about retiring here,” said Jones. “We have some customers in Europe who came over for product training, and they have even made it a point to come back and bring their families.”
C A B I N E T S • C O U N T E R TO P S • F L O O R C OV E R I N G
Visit us at our Showroom 1641 E. Spring St. • Cookeville, TN 38506 931-372-2112 • 1-800-996-2112 • FAX 931-528-9039 www.CAVENDERSINTERIOR.com
Our area’s striking natural features, cultural attractions, friendly communities, low cost of living, excellent educational system and award-winning regional medical facilities are attractive to both visiting clients and potential corporate recruits. “There are several executives I know who have relocated here within the past year,” said Allen. “Every one of them that I’ve ever talked to would say they’d never live anywhere else again. They all came from major markets and major cities and were like, ‘We’re moving to Cookeville??’ And now that they’re here, they’re all like, ‘Wow!’”
When you see our facility, it’s nice to know that the owners are right inside.
In today’s world of big business, it can be hard to tell who actually owns a funeral home. So the next time you drive past our firm, and it looks to you like it’s a familyowned business, there’s a good reason for it...it is.
ADVERTISEME N T s
A FLORAL & GIFT SHOPPE (931) 528-7673
•WEDDING SPECIALISTS•
FUNERAL HOMES & C R E M AT I O N S E R V I C E S
59 N. Jefferson Ave. Cookeville (931) 526-6111 hhhfunerals.com
Cookeville • Algood • Baxter • Monterey
c o o k e v i ll e- P u t n a m c o u n t y, t e nn e s s e e + Chamber of Commerce |
39
ADVERTISEME N TS
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preparing our
workforce st e h t r fo 21 century of life. Better jobs. Better earnings. A higher quality These are the essential elements of a bright future for
students and employers in the Highlands, and they’re also the primary goals of the Highlands Workforce Development and Education Committee.
Composed of both business and education leaders of the Highlands area, the committee is an active part of the Highlands Initiative, a collaborative public/ private sector program designed to boost economic and community development in Jackson, Overton, Putnam and White counties. Since its formation, the Workforce Development and Education Committee has launched an array of groundbreaking initiatives that have fostered collaboration among students, teachers, businesses and community leaders. Their programs have proven so successful that 42 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
they have captured the attention of the Tennessee Department of Education as a potential model for statewide programming. The committee’s success over the past three years has been a direct result of strong community leadership and teamwork. “True progress began once education and business leaders were brought to the table, combined with the hard work of many volunteers, under the leadership of Susan Elkins, former vice president for Extended Programs and Regional Development at Tennessee Technological University and former Workforce Development and Education Committee chair for the Highlands,” said Lillian Hartgrove, vice president of economic development for the Highlands. The Workforce Development and
Education Committee is made up of five subcommittees, each with specific goals and programs geared toward improving educational attainment and job readiness for the current and future workforce of the Highlands. Subcommittee initiatives include parental engagement, career fairs, guest speakers for after-school programs, Tennessee Scholars benefits and mentorship programs. These programs have stepped outside the realm of traditional methods of workforce development and education. “First, we are looking at the needs of current employers and ways to help people be better prepared for jobs they currently have and secondly how to improve the levels of education in this region to recruit jobs that are at a higher level, paying a higher wage so quality of life can be better,” said Elkins. Parental Engagement Program The parental engagement program approaches the task of getting parents of K-12 students involved by providing them with the opportunity to learn
about issues with their children – not at the school, but at their place of employment. Decades of research has shown that when parents are involved, students have higher grades, test scores and graduation rates; better school attendance; increased motivation; better self-esteem; lower rates of suspension; and decreased use of drugs and alcohol. That’s why targeting parents who want to attend parent meetings and/or workshops at their child’s school but lack the time and resources is a goal of the Parental Engagement Subcommittee. Examples of session topics include self-esteem, peer pressure, bullying, single parenting and risky behaviors. Companies that have participated in this program so far include Eaton Corp, Tutco, Oreck Manufacturing, the Oreck Call Center, FederalMogul, Parker Seals, INOAC, CRMC and Livingston Hospital. Many of the participating companies hold the sessions during employees’ lunch hours and provide a light lunch.
“These parents want very much to be involved in their children’s lives, but attending school meetings can be very difficult when you work day or night shifts in manufacturing, and a lot of them are saving their vacation days for class parties and other big school-year events that fall during their work hours,” said Angela Bruce, human resource manager at Tutco and chair of the Parental Engagement Subcommittee. So far the parental engagement program has reached 547 parents, guardians and grandparents. Written evaluations from parents and business leaders have been overwhelmingly positive, with parents indicating that sessions should be longer and offered more frequently. Sessions at some workshop locations have grown from 20 minutes to one hour because parents have been so receptive. “We witnessed magic happening, lightbulbs going off, solutions being offered and agreed upon,” said Hartgrove. “Parental engagement does make a difference in economic development, as it is a path to ensuring students stay in school, obtain their diplomas and become part of a stronger, more successful workforce.” Added Bruce, “Offering this program has made the greatest impact we’ve seen on our employees’ morale, because we all want to be able to have that advice and those strategies that will help us make our lives better for our children, and this is a great opportunity for them to do that without taking away from anything else in their lives.” Eighth-Grade Career Fair Another nontraditional approach is that of hosting career fairs for eighth-grade classes. In an effort to groom and grow the workforce of the future, it is important to provide career exploration early on. This effort attempts to create the proper mind-set as students transition
into high school for a real-world connection to the importance of the link between education and career opportunity. “This program has the potential to make a huge difference because eighth and ninth grades are pivotal years when you have to make a lot of decisions,” said Elkins. “If you get on kind of a wrong path, you might rule out a lot of opportunities, and if you wait until you’re a senior in high school to start thinking about these things, the train has already left the station.” Held each May, the career fair reaches around 1,500 eighth graders from Putnam, Jackson, Overton and White counties. Students are given career assessment exams in order to narrow their focus and interests. This allows them to be assigned an area of focus when attending the career fair, and it also provides insights for educators on what programs need to be offered. Each event features a keynote speaker who talks about how they became interested in a particular career, the education they pursued and how it has helped them achieve success. Employers from throughout the region set up informational displays around the Hooper Eblen Center concourse for students to visit. Then students break into small groups to attend sessions in which they hear professionals in their areas of interest share detailed job information including specific duties, pay scale, education and training requirements. “We know some students consider dropping out of school long before their senior year,” said Lynda Breeden, Career Fair Committee chair. “We hope the career fair will make a real-world connection to the high school courses eighth graders are choosing as they transition out of middle school and help motivate them to work hard.” Community Mentoring By leaving the business models of the past, new ground has been broken
with community mentoring, a task of the Learning and Development Subcommittee. The “Yes, I Can” program is designed for mentors recruited from businesses and educational institutions in the four Highlands counties to partner with individuals who are unemployed, underemployed or soon-to-be unemployed. “The Learning and Development Subcommittee determined that confidence and feelings of capability were one of the first barriers to
mentees gain confidence, focus and ability to create a new path for life. “At first I was kind of nervous about it because I had no idea what it was going to be like,” said one mentee, who found that his mentor was “like an older version of me. I could talk to him and explain things to him, and .... actually he had come from a situation similar to this. He had worked on the floor of a plant and went to school after he got laid off and got a degree in business at Tech, and now he saw this as his
We witnessed magic happening, lightbulbs going off, solutions being offered and agreed upon. Parental engagement does make a difference in economic development. Lillian hartgrove Chamber Economic Development Vice President
career readiness, and we looked for a way to help build the confidence that is an essential part of moving in new career or educational directions,” said committee chair Lisa Norris. During the 10-week “Yes, I Can” mentoring program, mentors and mentees work on three of 12 skill gaps, which include decision making, complex problem solving, negotiation, time management, life management, teaching others, active learning, interpersonal skills, listening, speaking, social awareness and confidence, and team participation. Positive feedback on this program has shown that
opportunity to help. It helped me quite a bit.” He says the program taught him to face his social fears head-on and to speak more comfortably in public. He is now enrolled in an electrical engineering program. Another mentee says his mentor helped to encourage him to go back to school. “It was inspirational in giving me the courage to focus on my future. We talked about the fact that I’ve had the chance before in the past to go to school, but I turned it down, and he said, ‘Now’s your chance to make a difference.’ The mentors give you encouragement to go toward
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workforce the goal that you have set, not to be shy, retiring or just shy away from it, but to focus on your goals for your future and your family.” Said Elkins, “This has been a very powerful program. Just knowing that there’s one person who cares what’s happening to you can make a huge difference in somebody’s career.” Speakers Bureau The Speakers Bureau is a subcommittee that brings different community leaders to schools to speak with sixth- to eighth-grade after-school students. Community volunteers consist of business owners, community leaders and other business professionals who speak to students about the importance of graduating from high school, preparing for an education and thinking about career choices. “These kids are hearing about jobs and careers not just from their teachers or their parents, but they’re actually hearing from those who work in them,” said Elkins. “These speakers are saying, ‘Here are the kinds of things we look for in our workforce, here’s what we do, here’s what we pay, here’s what we need you to do in order to be prepared to work with us.’” Randy Adams of Charter Media, who occasionally speaks to students
in the School Age Care Program, said, “I enjoy the opportunity to meet our young men and women and their teachers, principals and assistants. I receive much more from them than I could ever give back.” Added Hartgrove, “Randy is being very modest about the impact he is having on students in the after-school speaking engagements. Several teachers have commented on Randy’s way of reaching students that have previously been unreachable. Quiet students who rarely get excited about topics are highly engaged when a speaker like Randy Adams has the opportunity to speak to them. We are incredibly fortunate to have a great group of speaker volunteers who are making a difference in the lives of students in the Highlands.” Tennessee Scholars Program The Tennessee Scholars program is a course of study that encourages students to take more demanding classes in high school. The curriculum provides an education that better prepares students to enter a technical school, postsecondary education, a university or the workforce. This is a business-led partnership between businesses and the schools, with business people providing leadership and incentives for students who stay on track and
The work of this entire committee has been to help people have better jobs, better earnings and a higher quality of life. Susan Elkins Former Workforce Development and Education Committee Chair
who graduate on time as Tennessee Scholars. The program was started by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry to help build a quality workforce by encouraging students to prepare early for a changing economy. This low-cost and simple-to-implement program has been highly successful in bringing business leaders, policy makers and educators together to define the high school courses that will provide students with a strong academic foundation for the future. With a mission to increase the percentage of high school graduates
better prepared for postsecondary education, the workforce or the military, the Tennessee Scholars program is sharing the message that more education means more opportunities. With studies showing the top 25 percent of students are already on a path to excel, the program targets the middle 50 percent of students. According to research, it is the middle 50 percent who need this program the most, as these students are the majority of our future workforce. Since the state now mandates a longterm plan for eighth-grade students, the program has been designed as a four-year endeavor to reach students
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as they plan their high school curriculum, ensuring they select a more rigorous course of study. This will create a path for them to be more successful in high school, at the postsecondary education level and as they become part of the workforce. A key factor in the success of the Tennessee Scholars program is the recruitment and training of speakers. These speakers are business professionals from each community who volunteer their time and are trained to present the program to students. There are currently 42 speakers volunteering their time in Highlands counties. White County is leading the way, having the largest number of Tennessee Scholars in the Highlands. Workforce Development and Education liaisons Julia Huddleston and Diane Sadler expressed a great appreciation for the school system in assisting with coordinating and scheduling presentations.
“Teachers in the Highlands have gotten on board, seeing the potential this program can have on their students, and are encouraging them to become a part of it and to carry that plan through graduation and beyond,” said Sadler. “Response from these educators has been very positive, noting that Tennessee Scholars is most impactful due to the students being educated about its benefits by future potential employers.” The plan for the Highlands Workforce Development and Education Committee is to reach students through repetition and saturation of information about the Tennessee Scholars program, ensuring that they have been provided every opportunity to be a part of the program. This venture of the Workforce Development and Education Committee benefits the region’s school system, the business community and each student graduating as a Tennessee Scholar.
Schools in the Highlands region will have higher attendance, improved teacher morale, more parental involvement and increased graduation rates. The business community will have a more qualified workforce, resulting in a more competitive edge for business recruitment. Students will have better opportunities on all levels academically and as they enter the workforce. Gaining Momentum New initiatives are ever on the horizon for the Workforce Development and Education Committee. “We had a consulting group do a labor market study for us a couple of years ago, so we have the results of that now, and we have just finished surveying the employers in the area to find out what their education and hiring needs are so we can find out how to better prepare a workforce for them,” said Elkins. A new subcommittee — Workforce Connection Committee — has
sprung from that work. And after gaining state recognition in February 2012 for its parental engagement program, the committee has now gained attention on a multistate level and was invited to join the Pathways to Prosperity Network. The Highlands was one of two regions selected by the Tennessee Department of Education to play a role in the new network focused on career preparation for high school students. It is created in collaboration with national education nonprofit Jobs for the Future and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. The Pathways to Prosperity Network is a multistate, multiyear initiative promoting school partnerships with public and private sector leaders in six states: Tennessee, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri and North Carolina. The network aims to address career readiness of students without high school or college
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workforce diplomas by combining rigorous academics with strong technical education to equip more young people with the skills to succeed in today’s increasingly challenging labor market. The new partnership builds on Tennessee’s existing careerpreparation programs in diverse regions across the state. Programs of the Highlands Workforce Development and Education Committee were awarded the honor of being selected for Pathways to Prosperity along with those of the Southeast region, where students connect with growing industrial centers by working with Volkswagen, The Public Education Foundation, Chattanooga State Community College and Tennessee Technology Center at Chattanooga. “Through the Pathways to
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Prosperity Network, Tennessee will continue its efforts to ensure more students graduate prepared for career opportunities and further education, eventually expanding these regional programs to a statewide system of career pathways,” said Danielle Mezera, assistant commissioner for career and technical education for the Tennessee Department of Education. Said Elkins, “Ultimately, it’s about quality of life. The work of this entire committee has been to help people have better jobs, better earnings and a higher quality of life. So all of these pieces of the puzzle, like the mentoring program, the parental engagement, the career fair, and now the Workforce Connection Committee and the Pathways to Prosperity project, are all coming together to create a very bright future for students and employers in the Highlands.”
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a higher level of
competition e in the region. Cookeville-Putnam County is raising its gam Cookeville-Putnam County has long attracted retirees and other new residents
due, in part, to accolades such as our repeated recognition as one of the top 10 “Most Affordable Cities in the U.S.” in The Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index, our designation as an official Retire Tennessee certified community, and our No. 2 spot on Walk Score’s® “Most Walkable Cities in Tennessee” list. However, several recent
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developments have brought Cookeville to a tipping point in becoming a go-to destination for athletic and tourism events, as well. TSSAA What really started the ball rolling was scoring the privilege of hosting the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) State Football Championships for the 2009 and 2010 BlueCross Bowl games.
“Cookeville showed a lot of enthusiasm and leadership and had the 14 counties that surround Cookeville and Tennessee Tech on board,’’ said Bernard Childress, TSSAA’s executive director. “They all showed support.” Residents, businesses and institutions rallied behind the effort, and the event was such a success in its first two years here that Cookeville subsequently won a two-year
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photo
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Cookeville native Rich Froning, who captured
the Reebok CrossFit Fittest Man on Earth title for a second time in 2012, credits Cookeville’s natural surroundings and youth sports programs with spurring his enthusiasm for fitness from an early age. He has already begun attracting fellow extreme fitness enthusiasts to Cookeville to train with him — a trend that’s likely to continue with the opening of his new CrossFit Mayhem facility.
extension and then a four-year extension through 2016. In addition to the estimated $1 million-plus the games bring into our community each year in terms of tourist spending, the tournament also creates inestimable exposure for Cookeville as a destination. In the months preceding the event, the city’s name appears repeatedly in media coverage, especially in the 16 towns whose teams
attend the Division I and II championships — and that’s not counting the championship week itself. “All eyes in the high school sports world are on Cookeville, Tennessee, for that week,” said Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO George Halford. “This is our chance to shine and to focus attention on our area’s many assets. We feel sure that once
[crossfit]
they see all we have to offer, many of the families who visit us will decide to come back.” TTU Camps Even before the TSSAA tournaments began bringing thousands to our area, Tennessee Tech was bringing thousands of young athletes to Cookeville each year for its summer sports camps. TTU hosts nearly 30 sports camps each summer
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competition
for baseball, basketball, volleyball and football players and cheerleaders. Those events draw nearly 10,000 young people to our community from throughout the Southeast region. In addition to these, TTU also hosts Boys State and musician/band camps and recitals. “We have great facilities; we’re in a good, central location in the state; we have good coaching staff to manage these events; and Cookeville just has a good feel to it,” said Ben Shannon, director of facilities and events for the TTU Athletics Department. “I think TSSAA put us on the map for being a sports location, and I think once people have been able to travel to our community and see what it’s about and see what we have to offer, they definitely want to consider us for their events.” SportsPlex Tournaments Beyond the Tech campus, the Cane Creek SportsPlex, administered by the Cookeville Department of Leisure Services, brings in thousands of people each year from throughout Tennessee and from many different states for the sports tournaments they host. The SportsPlex has eight softball/baseball-ready fields, and Leisure Services also has four dedicated baseball fields at Park View. “Cookeville has been a destination for softball and baseball tournaments for several years now, largely because of our SportsPlex complex that
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we built and opened back in the late '90s,” said Rick Woods, director of Cookeville Leisure Services. “In a particular year, 2012 for example, we have 26 weekend tournaments scheduled at the SportsPlex that draw teams from all over the country. That’s a very positive economic impact on the City of Cookeville.” He estimates that nearly 13,000 attended SportsPlex events in 2011, the latest year for which figures are available, though Woods says attendance is growing as the facility attracts larger tournaments with more teams and more spectators. “Cookeville is within an easy drive of a lot of the Southeast, we’re right here in the middle of Tennessee, and the SportsPlex is in a very easily accessible location within Cookeville,” said Woods. “That makes us appealing for state tournament directors, who also consider the quality of our facilities, the number of available hotel rooms, the needed amenities and the kind of community we are. In terms of all of those things, we rank right up there.” Sports Council The growth of tournament attendance and the TSSAA victory have spurred a group of local leaders to launch the Cookeville-Putnam County Sports Council, designed to attract more sporting events to Cookeville, Putnam County and the region.
Under the umbrella of the Cookeville-Putnam County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the council is made up of 17 area business leaders, media partners and education administrators who will collectively work to leverage the area’s facilities and expertise focusing on youth sports. “It all started with winning the bid to host the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl,” said Ottis Phillips, former Sports Council chairman. “This was a tipping point to prove that we can successfully host major sporting events in our county. It has put Cookeville and our community on the map and now we look forward to being even more proactive in recruiting events that have a major economic impact on the community.” The council has been tasked with creating an inventory of sports facilities in the county and region, putting together a list of current events held in the area, coming up with criteria for bidding on events and economic impact formulas, researching the possibility of creating incentives for events looking to come to town, and potential funding sources. “We are looking forward to setting the groundwork to target events that will have a positive economic impact on the county, especially area hotels, restaurants and local retail stores,” said Sports Council chairman Clarence Smith. “We will be working hard to set a solid
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Cookeville will host
the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl in TTU’s Tucker Stadium through 2016.
[Dean
carothers]
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Cookeville will
host the Tennessee State HOG Rally again in 2014. [WDSTONE]
foundation by doing our homework to make sure we demonstrate we are a serious player when it comes to hosting sports events.” Woods says he hopes that, with help from the Sports Council, Cookeville can begin to attract even larger tournaments than in the past, and not just state tournaments but national and world tournaments. “We’re very grateful for the many local, regional and state tournaments that bring their teams to play here each year,” said Woods. “If we could also land some national and world tournaments, which might bring in 50 or 60 teams for a weekend, think of the impact that could make.” World’s Fittest Man Cookeville’s growing reputation as a sports haven is not strictly centered around ball games. When Cookeville native Rich Froning won the title of Reebok CrossFit Fittest Man on Earth not once, but twice, Cookeville began to enter the world’s awareness as a great place to get fit, too. Froning, a CrossFit trainer who earned his B.S. in exercise science from TTU, won the world title in 2011 and 2012, competing against 70,000 other registered athletes in the 2012 game. In addition to the two world titles, he placed second in the 2010 games and is already gearing up to compete in 2013. Shortly after his 2012 win, Froning opened his own CrossFit facility — CrossFit
Mayhem — in Cookeville. Froning says that growing up in the Cookeville area definitely fostered his ability to pursue an active lifestyle. “There’s so much to do,” said Froning. “You’re right between two lakes, so you can go swim or do anything you want to do there, and you have mountains. I grew up on Phifer Mountain, and I still go up there and mountain bike. We have good roads to do road biking on, there are a ton of softball leagues you can join, and now we’re going to have one of the best CrossFit gyms in the world. We’re centrally located, so there are just a lot of different options for what you want to do.” After Froning’s 2011 win, Dan Bailey moved to Cookeville to train with him and went on to win the fourth spot worldwide in the 2012 competition. Froning anticipates that more serious fitness enthusiasts will likely follow. “I think we’ll get some people who, nationally or internationally, want to train here,” said Froning. “Even now I have a group of kids that I train who are world-class motocross riders.” HOG Rally Sports fans and fitness enthusiasts aren’t the only ones discovering what a great place Cookeville is for events. Cookeville competed with Nashville, Knoxville and Maryville for hosting rights for the Tennessee
State 2012 HOG (Harley Owners Group) Rally, and Cookeville won the honor. So for five summer days, more than 2,600 Harley riders came from across Tennessee and several other states, making an estimated $2-3 million impact on Cookeville and Putnam County. “I heard the comment from people at the HOG Rally, people who live less than 100 miles from Cookeville who came, and their only experience, I guess, was when they came through Cookeville to stop and get gas,” said Jim Woodford, a Cookeville city councilman and chamber ambassador. “But when they got around the older part of the town, they were amazed at the square.” Woodford said he feels sure that a number of those people will return to visit Cookeville and might bring their family and friends. And Cookeville made such a great impression on its visitors that the Harley-Davidson Motor Company presented the community with the coveted Rally Knife, and organizers announced that they would bring the event back here in 2014. If recent successes are an indicator, Cookeville is well poised to grow in our region’s awareness as word of mouth spreads about our amenities, our beautiful locale, our hospitality and our community’s eagerness to seamlessly coordinate statewide and regional events. And to that we say, “Bring it on!”
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Renovating Putnam’s
Downtowns Downtown Cookeville is experiencing new life, coming into its own once more because concerned residents and city officials have taken action over the course of decades to save the once-dying heart of their town. And now, our neighboring Putnam County towns – Algood, Baxter and Monterey – are gaining revitalization momentum, as well. The excitement is contagious! Cookeville’s Culmination
Cookeville’s downtown rejuvenation, now in full swing, began nearly 40 years ago when, in 1975, a group of citizens undertook the restoration of the thendilapidated, circa-1909 Downtown: Cookeville depot. The group, Cookeville now known as the Friends of the Depot, persuaded the Feature: City of Cookeville to buy Dogwood Park the depot from the L&N Expansion Railroad, lovingly restored it to its former splendor and Completed: 2012 opened it as a museum filled with photos and artifacts from the railroad’s glory days. Their work paid off, and in 1985, the Cookeville Depot Museum was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. That success gave the community a burst of steam, and other citizens began to consider just what might be possible for Cookeville. Many West Side storefronts sat vacant at the time, with the last of the great old department stores, Roberson’s and McAdoo’s, having finally closed their doors. The historic buildings around the square and along the West Side were definitely worse for their generations of wear; power lines crisscrossed in the air; and the sidewalks were pocked and cracking. That’s when a group of local visionaries organized to
create a downtown that adequately reflected the heart of our community, one in which residents could take pride. So in 1992, they formed a nonprofit called CityScape, hired a director, enlisted support from the City of Cookeville and set about remaking downtown. “They began with digging up the sidewalks in front of businesses, which, as you could imagine, was not entirely popular,” said Toni Evans, CityScape’s current director. “But as the streetscaping progressed, people could see new sidewalks, the brick pavers and the crossings; the decorative, historic lampposts that now surround the square; and underground utility lines that eliminated the visual clutter. Those are the sorts of things that this group built the base for through partnership with the City of Cookeville, which was very much behind what CityScape’s purpose and mission became.” In the two decades since, CityScape has continued in spurring and supporting downtown and West Side rejuvenation efforts. They secured Rural Business Enterprise Grants and funding from the City of Cookeville to open the Farmers Market in 2002; contributed $5,000 to amend water drainage issues on the West Side behind Taiko Noodle & Sushi Bar in hopes of soon placing a pocket park there; and are working on the West Side business parking lot behind Charter Communications. Funded by grants and private donations, CityScape continues to help beautify West Side storefronts by offering awning and façade grants of up to $1,000. All of these efforts have helped to earn Cookeville
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downtowns
the prestigious Main Street program certification, an honor shared by only 23 other cities in the state. CityScape’s next big project will be repairing and restoring the Cream City sign, Cookeville’s legendary neon landmark that sits atop the Cream City Ice Cream & Coffee House building across from the depot. “It’s a 67-year-old sign that’s fallen into disrepair, and we’re going to lose it if we don’t do something,” said Evans, who is seeking grants and raising funds through events and T-shirt and Christmas ornament sales to cover the approximately $10,000 needed for the restoration. Meanwhile, the City of Cookeville has undertaken some exciting overhauls of its own. In 2007 it opened the Cookeville History Museum, which houses a self-paced, permanent exhibit on the history of Cookeville and Putnam County. In 2009 the city gave the Cookeville Performing Arts Center a new lobby and façade complete with steps, ramps, fountains and a digital marquee sign. And in
2012, Cookeville completed a massive expansion of Dogwood Park, adding a concession/restroom area that mimics the Cookeville Depot’s pagoda design; terraced amphitheater seating with the help of a $20,000 contribution from CityScape; and new walking paths, benches, lampposts, trash cans, trees and a breathtaking splashing fountain that is lit with colored bulbs at night, all with the help of contributions from local residents, businesses and organizations. The West Side Business Association has played an important part in downtown revival, as well, by organizing and representing the varied West Side merchants and placing large metal signs imprinted with old downtown photos and descriptions on Cookeville’s buildings to show how each area appeared to past generations. The seeds of restoration planted nearly four decades ago in Cookeville have burst into full bloom. Now bustling with shops, boutiques and restaurants, Cookeville’s downtown is once again a go-to attraction for residents and tourists alike.
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232 N. Peachtree • Cookeville, TN 38501 931-528-2456 • www.mauricioscookeville.com 5 4 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
Algood’s All-in-One Municipal Building
Just down the road from Cookeville, the charming City of Algood is busy building a new city Downtown: hall at the corner of Algood Main and Fourth Avenue. Scheduled for Feature: City Hall completion in January Building 2013, the $2 million facility will sport a Completed: 2013 modern appearance and will centralize a number of city departments – public works, utilities, city court, the police department and other management offices. Algood also is making progress toward Phase II of its Tennessee Central Heritage Rail Trail project, with approximately 3.7 miles of trail planned to run along the existing railroad track from the Algood ball fields to Parragon Road. The projected Tennessee Central Heritage Rail Trail will be a 19-mile, paved, hiking and biking trail that will run alongside refurbished railroad tracks from Cookeville to Algood and Monterey. The project has been funded by multiple transportation enhancement grants to the City of Cookeville.
+ continued
Baxterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Burgeoning train Depot and center
Formerly a thriving railway town, the City of Baxter in western Putnam County will be a whistle-stop once more when construction Downtown: on its new Baxter Train Baxter Depot and Visitor Center is complete. With a Feature: Baxter scheduled finish date of Train Depot early 2013, the facility is the culmination of an effort Completed: 2013 begun by six members of the Leadership Putnam (LP) Class of 2005 as one of their community projects.
Montereyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Metamorphosis
Downtown: Monterey Feature: Depot Museum
Soon after the group presented their ideas on recreating Baxterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old depot, an anonymous donor offered to pay a large portion of the nearly $384,000 construction cost. As word spread, several residents came forward willing to donate remnants and memorabilia they had saved from Baxterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original depot.
Situated atop the hills of the Highlands, Monterey enjoyed renown as a resort mecca around the turn of the last century, thanks in large part to the railroad. When rail travel faded, so did Monterey, whose economy relied largely on those tourist dollars. But with the rails-with-trails program set to deliver a new generation of railway passengers, Monterey looks to be poised on the verge of yet another tourism heyday, and residents have been very busy doing all they can to make that happen.
In 2009, several citizens joined to form Monterey Downtown Inc. (MDI), and by 2010 they Completed: 2012 had secured a $15,000 Tennessee Downtown Revitalization grant. In 2011, they headed up Montereyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first-ever downtown festival and, with the help of around 100 volunteers, took on several downtown cleanup and revitalization projects, which included installing new directional signs and city benches and restoring the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first water treatment facility â&#x20AC;&#x201C; built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935 and commonly referred to as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;round houseâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; into a business information kiosk to complement the downtown area.
Three members of the LP class who are Baxter natives â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jill Hutchison, Rocky Matlock and Julie Brown â&#x20AC;&#x201C; agreed to continue on the Baxter Rebuilding the Depot Committee after their class ended.
In 2012, the Monterey Garden Club raised $13,000 for a landscaping project to beautify the Monterey Farmers Market, which serves as a trailhead for the Tennessee Central Heritage Rail Trail project. With the help of Cookeville architect Charles Brown, they excavated the parking lot and added sidewalks, an irrigation system, planters, shrubbery, sand, rock and grass.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Baxter used to be an active, vibrant place,â&#x20AC;? said Hutchison, who hopes this project will spur a renewed interest in Baxter and its history. Other residents have joined in the planning and fund-raising effort, and it appears that their wish will soon be a reality.
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ADVERTISEME N T s
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+ continued
â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will be the entrance to the downtown area,â&#x20AC;? said Theresa PughGodsey of MDI. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So when people come off the interstate, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really going to see the beautiful side of Monterey.â&#x20AC;?
Performing quality electrical contracting in Cookeville and the surrounding area since 1967.
However, the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crowning achievement was the February 2012 grand opening of the Monterey Depot Museum, a project five years in the making. The museum features artifacts and photos from the old Monterey depot, which was dismantled in 1973, as well as a gift shop. Museum attendance has surpassed all expectations, with 4,500 visitors streaming in from many states and even some foreign countries in the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first six months of operation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Monterey is really taking this and running with it,â&#x20AC;? said Evans. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I go to a lot of meetings across the state, and Monterey, in particular, gets a lot of press throughout the state for what all theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing.â&#x20AC;? In August 2012, ground was broken for the Monterey segment of the rails-with-trails project. Construction will include a block of decorative pavers that will run between the depot museum and the historic Imperial Hotel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a relic from Montereyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grand resort days. But Monterey residents are not stopping there. In the near future, they hope to add static railcar displays and to eventually construct a spur line for two live coaches on the depot grounds and to open a Standing Stone American Indian Cultural Center. Monterey cultural administrator Ken Hall, who oversees the depot museum and farmers market, believes recent developments are only the start of what the future holds for Monterey. Said Hall, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be just like it was back in the beginning.â&#x20AC;?
tnam downtowns
More info about Pu
.
okevilleChamber.com
can be found at Co
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5 6 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
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PEER SUPPORT GROUPS for Bereavement • Divorce • Schools
377 Short St., Suite B • Cookeville, TN 38501 • 931-525-2600
HeartoftheCumberland.org
What A Community
Proud
Algood: 330 West Main Street
ATMss
to be a part of Putnam County!
Cookeville: 412 South Jefferson Avenue
Willow Tree Shopping Center - 176 S. Willow Avenue, Cookeville Algood 111 Shell - 635 West Main Street, Algood
931.528.BANK (2265) Member Memb
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Putnam county and the highlands visitor center
N W
Algood
E S
Cookeville 111
Baxter
Monterey
70
40
HIGHLANDS VISITOR CENTER
Address 470-A Neal St. • Cookeville, TN 38501 Phone (931) 525-1575 Toll-Free 800-264-5541 Online mustseecookeville.com
Cookeville’s central location
Cookeville is located between
three of Tennessee’s four major metropolitan areas — Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga — and has excellent access to interstate systems, with Interstate 40 running from east to west through the center of the region and Highway 111 running from north to south.
Nashville
These roadways provide essential access to the majority of the people who live in the Upper Cumberland. Within a day’s drive from 76 percent of the total U.S. population, Cookeville and Putnam County are often referred to as the “hub of the Upper Cumberland.”
Knoxville
40
111
Chattanooga
CHAMBER STAFF George Halford President and CEO
Laura Canada
VP of Communications and Programs; Convention & Visitors Bureau Director
6 0 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
Lillian Lynne Dianne Hartgrove Matthews Callahan
VP of Economic Development
VP of Operations
Membership Services Director
Molly Brown
Communications/ Convention & Visitors Bureau Coordinator
Megan Farris
Economic Development Specialist
Andrea Dudney
Administrative Assistant
Jenny Wilson
Information Specialist
the chamber
Bringing People Together for Progress
Thriving tourism. Rejuvenated downtowns. An ebullient business climate. Poised for tremendous growth. One can hardly look at these hallmarks of community progress without
county chamber
Address One W. First St. Cookeville, TN 38501 Phone (931) 526-2211 800-264-5541 Email info@cookeville chamber.com Online cookeville chamber.com
seeing the handprints of the CookevillePutnam County Chamber of Commerce, an organization that’s playing a vital role in spurring and fostering area development efforts.
Led by president and CEO George Halford, the chamber is made up of more than 800 members and scores of volunteers, all of whom are dedicated to creating a strong local economy and a fertile ground for growth. Membership is open to any business, individual or group sharing the common goal of making Cookeville-Putnam County and the Highlands a better place to live, work and play. For the chamber, the road to success is paved in partnerships. In fact, that’s the chamber’s primary function — to establish connections that bring residents together in new and productive ways. The fruits of these efforts are seen in several areas.
The Highlands Initiative It would be difficult to discuss the chamber — or its commitment to partnerships — without mentioning its crowning achievement, the Highlands Initiative. Spearheaded by the chamber in 2006, the Highlands Initiative is a collaborative public/private sector program that was designed to boost the economy of the 14-county Upper Cumberland region of which Putnam County is a part. The ambitious plan has sought to bring tourism, retirees, business and industry to our region for a more prepared, prosperous economy through the implementation of four main goals: • • • •
Business recruitment, expansion and retention Community development and advocacy Research, branding and awareness Workforce development and education
The result has been a four-county, project-based consortium of four chambers of commerce, six local governments and scores of business and education leaders, legislators and motivated citizens who, through their coordinated efforts, have pulled off some groundbreaking achievements:
• Helped develop Highlands Business Park and Upper Cumberland Regional Industrial Park • Secured a new fifth interchange for I-40 • Opened an official Highlands Visitor Center • Hosted the Highlands Town Hall Gubernatorial Debate • Won hosting privileges to the TSSAA football championships • Was awarded the American Association of Retirement Communities Seal of Approval • Created a comprehensive Workforce Development and Education program of work that has been recognized by state leaders as a bestpractices model for success • Became one of nine communities to host the Governor’s Regional Jobs Roundtable • Received LinkTenn Award for exceptional website development • Launched regional Health Care Delivery Program • Facilitated 38 company openings/expansions in our region, creating a total of more than 2,800 new jobs • Was chosen as the destination for HOG Rally • Conducted more than 1,000 economic/business/community meetings • Supported more than 170 membership events • Attended almost 50 trade shows and conferences • Established and supported 22 member core committees These efforts have given our region measurable economic success and an enriched community despite extraordinary challenges and intense competition, with the promise of greater future benefits. “The Highlands Initiative energizes our understanding and cooperation while we coordinate business and civic actions to build a unique brand and global presence,” said Halford. “Situated at the nexus of billion-dollar industry investments in Chattanooga, Clarksville and Cleveland, the Highlands are poised to access new markets, upgrade quality of living and achieve new levels of education and workforce readiness for the future.” Existing business outreach As the backbone of the business community, the chamber is involved in facilitating improvements to keep existing businesses running smoothly. They do this through a network of more than 30 volunteer “ambassadors” who call on companies to determine any needs that the chamber can fill. When an ambassador learns that a company needs help with certain issues — such as recruiting and training employees, transportation needs or other bureaucratic hurdles — they bring that concern back to the chamber and its partners on the city, state and federal levels to get the problem solved.
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the chamber â&#x20AC;&#x153;Say we learn that a business needs two welders and will need them in the next six months or less, and then we learn that another business also needs a welder,â&#x20AC;? said Jim Woodford, a chamber ambassador and city councilman. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can go into our Highlands member counties to find out if there are other industries that also need welders. Now we can go back to one or more of the technical schools and say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We have a potential class here for welding that has 15 applicants.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; They can create a welding class knowing that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a demand for it, and workers get trained to fill these companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs. Everybody wins.â&#x20AC;? Added ambassador Jewel Miller of the Bank of Putnam County, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think people realize how valuable the chamber can be to them as a small business owner. So I think that having more ambassadors who go out and make contact and ask, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How can we help your business to grow?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; has helped a lot to raise awareness of all that the chamber offers.â&#x20AC;?
Event coordination In the past three years, the chamber has scored some major wins in event tourism. In 2009, Cookeville was awarded a two-year contract to host the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) State Football Championships at Tennessee Tech University. The bidding process, the subsequent renovations to TTUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tucker Stadium, and the event itself required the cooperation of several community entities and individuals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The chamber helped to orchestrate and coordinate the City of Cookeville, Putnam County, the Tennessee Tech community and around 750 volunteers to make the TSSAA tournaments happen,â&#x20AC;? said Woodford. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the chamber has done an excellent job in orchestrating and coordinating divergent groups and getting everybody on the same page and working as a team.â&#x20AC;? Our TSSAA event was so successful
in its first two years that Cookeville won the bid for another two-year term and then a four-year term. We will host the tournament through at least 2016.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company presented the community with the coveted Rally Knife, and organizers announced that they would bring the event back in 2014.
The chamber also worked to bring the Tennessee State HOG (Harley Owners Group) Rally â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a massive, annual, weeklong convergence of Harley enthusiasts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to Cookeville in 2012.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The chamber is so good at drawing the entire community together to help with these events,â&#x20AC;? said Miller. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realize how big of an event that that would be, and when it comes back in 2014, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see even more volunteers than we had this time.â&#x20AC;?
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The 2011 HOG Rally was in Jackson, and I think they had right at 700 people preregister for that event,â&#x20AC;? said Woodford. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cookeville, on the other hand, had around 2,400 who preregistered. It was remarkable, but we were able to make it happen with the hard work that was done by Boswellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HarleyDavidson, the chamber and the city. Everybody worked together to coordinate it.â&#x20AC;? Because of the outstanding job Cookeville, Putnam County and the region did to host the rally, the
The chamberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dedication to fostering communication and synthesizing the needs and abilities of our regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many diverse sectors is paying off. Statewide championships are being decided here. National organizations are meeting here. International corporations are locating here. These examples and more prove that when all facets of our community work together, great things get done.
Chamber Membership Benefits Advertising and promotional opportunities Networking Meeting room rental discounts Semiannual Small Business Expos Access to our business resource center Use of the chamberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bulk mailing permit Business advocacy Preprinted labels from our mailing list Inclusion in the Sourcebook Able to set up a booth at the Tabletop Expo Ribbon cuttings Business referrals Certificates of origin Seminars, forums and workshops
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CARE YOU CAN TRUST . . . The Upper Cumberlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier assisted living community
morningsideofcookeville.com &BTU 4QSJOH 4USFFU $PPLFWJMMF 5/ Ĺ 6 2 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
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1
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photos
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Chamber Board Members from left: Mike Porten, Chuck Sparks, Phillip Baker, Don Viar, Jeanie Lee, Johnny Stites, Kent Furcron, Jean Davis, Jill Horner, David Prowse, Kevin Bowling,
Susan Elkins, Bob Bell, Jeremy Stoner, Thomas Lynn.
2
[Ron baker]
Chamber ambassadors seated from left: JoeMac Bennett, Garry Cravens, Kristin Wells, Dianne Callahan, Jewell Miller, Candice Allen, Hannah Davis, Marilyn Mullinix, Brandon Reeves,
Jeff Jones. Standing from left: Phillip Baker, Jason Hicks, Jeff Duncan, Lee Wray, James Massengille, Robert Ward, James Dial, Jim Woodford, Lee Jones, Don Viar, Ryan Smith, Jonathan West.
[Ron baker]
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You can see the wonderful impact The Little Gym can have on your child when you join us for a FREE introductory class. Coming to Cookeville Summer 2013 The Little Gym Cookeville
Matt Allen, OWNER Experiential learning and physical development programs for children ages 4 months through 12 years
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ADVERTISEME N T
H
advertisers index
strategy.
a
thr
We are grateful to our advertisers. We invite your
patronage of their products and services.
A Affordable Travel, 24 Allen’s Roofing & Exteriors, 63 Alpine Lodge & Suites, 40 Amedisys Home Health, 45 American Way Real Estate, 57 Anderson Printing Solutions, OBC Appliance Mart, 19 Automotive Parts Supply, 38 B Beautiful Balloons Giggle Shoppe, 45 Bethesda Health Care Center, 39 Billings Crane, 9 Billy G. Smith & Associates, 25 Builders Supply Co., 62 C Caring Homes for Seniors, 19 Carwile Mechanical Contractors, 40 Cavender’s, 39 Chartwells @ TTU Dining, 46 Citizens Bank, 58 City of Cookeville, 41 Cookeville Electric Motor, 38 Cookeville Regional Medical Center, IBC Cookeville-Putnam County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 56 Crest Lawn Funeral Home, 40 Cruise Planners, 1 Custom Fireplaces & More, 24 D Deborah’s Designs, 39 Deuel’s Creative Photography, 56 Duncan Moving & Storage, 58 Duncan, Wheeler & Wilkerson, 54 E Elk Mtn. Construction, 47 Evergreen Today, 9 Express Signs, 30 F Fairfield Inn & Suites, 55 Farley’s Masonry, 19 Farm Bureau Insurance, 29 Fire Tree Hearth & Grill, 8 First National Bank, 59 First United Methodist Church, 55 H Health Benefit Solutions, 40 Heart of the Cumberland, 59 Heavenly Host Lutheran School, 44 Herald-Citizen, 46 Highways, Inc., 47 Hill Realty, IFC Home Instead Senior Care, 10 Hooper, Huddleston & Horner, 39 6 4 | T h e S o u r c e b o o k + No. 18
oug
h
z
I Irby, 58 IWC Cash & Carry, 25 J Jenkins, Peggy (Mary Kay), 8
media.
branding. print.
L Lakeland Electric, 56 Ledbetter, David, 30 Leslie Town Centre, 11 M Mauricio’s Italian Restaurant, 54 Middle Tennessee Federal Credit Union, 44 Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, 58 Morningside of Cookeville, 62 N Nick’s Restaurant, 29 NuImage Promotions, 46 P Pet Pal Gal, 19 Plateau Mental Health Center, 46 PM Environmental, 25 Praise Cathedral Church, 28 Putnam 1st Mercantile Bank, 28 Putnam Co. Board of Education, 33 Putnam Co. Government, 3 R Regional Oral Surgery Center, 58 Rogers Group, 31 S Sentry Shred, 31 ServPro, 47 SouthEast Bank, 56 Swallows Agencies, 18 T Tennessee Tech, 32 The Little Gym of Cookeville, 63 Town of Monterey, 58 Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative, 59 U Upper Cumberland Regional Airport, 25 Upper Cumberland Urology Assoc., 24 W Walker Diesel, 24 WDStone & Associates, 64 Williams Wholesale Supply, 47 WIN Home Inspection, 45 Y YMCA, 24 IFC – Inside Front Cover IBC – Inside Back Cover OBC – Outside Back Cover
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